Binance adds two former FATF members to its team of advisors

Binance is continuing to add former regulators to its team of compliance advisors. The exchange appointed two former members of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), according to an announcement Thursday.

Former executive secretary Rick McDonell has served in a variety of positions combatting illicit finance. In addition to his role with FATF, he also served as Executive Director to the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) and the Chief of the United Nations Office On Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) global program on AML.

With McDonell comes Joseé Nadeau, who previously served as Head of the Canadian delegation to FATF. Both have worked with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

At Binance, they'll provide guidance on how to comply with policies from various regulators and interface with policymakers on issues related to crypto growth.

These appointments come in the wake of new guidance from the FATF, which takes aim at more anonymous modes of transacting. It also recommends heightened transaction reporting rules for crypto, recommending originator and beneficiary know-your-customer information be reportable, even for peer-to-peer transactions.  

McDonell and Nadeau have a financial integrity consultancy firm together, McDonell-Nadeau. Both also serve as advisors to Shyft Network as of last year. The network is heavily focused on presenting solutions to data-sharing problems posed by FATF's heightened standards.

In addition to McDonell and Nadeau, Binance added a longtime member of the U.S. Senate, Max Baucus, to its team of policy advisors earlier this month. Baucus also served as former President Barack Obama's ambassador to China.