Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced several leadership changes, including the appointment of a new acting director.
The current director, Kenneth Blanco, will step down as director of FinCEN on April 9. He has been in this role since December 2017. Michael Mosier, former FinCEN deputy director and current counselor to the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, was named acting director. AnnaLou Tirol, former associate director of FinCEN’s Strategic Operations Division, is serving as FinCEN deputy director.
“Serving as FinCEN’s eighth Director has been a wonderful and rewarding experience for me,” Blanco said. “I am proud to have led an incredible organization with an important national security mission that has a profound effect on the lives of so many people, especially the most vulnerable in our society. I have every confidence in Mr. Mosier and Ms. Tirol’s ability to lead the bureau forward and continue the progress of ensuring our national security and protecting people from harm. They are skilled professionals with extensive experience safeguarding the American people. Their proven leadership at FinCEN and in other parts of government, combined with their vast relationships across the U.S. government and the national security enterprise, will ensure continuity as FinCEN implements the historic and sweeping Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 while remaining a pacesetter in innovation and industry regulation.”
Prior to his role as counselor to the deputy secretary of the Treasury, Mosier was FinCEN’s deputy director and first digital innovation officer. Before that, he was chief technical counsel at the cryptocurrency analytics, compliance, and investigations firm Chainalysis. He has also served as associate director at Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and deputy chief in the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Money Laundering & Asset Recovery Section. He has also worked on the White House National Security Council as Director for Transnational Organized Crime. He began his public service career as a prosecutor with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office
Tirol is already serving in her new role as deputy director, where she assists in overseeing FinCEN’s wide-ranging work to enhance national security. She joined FinCEN in September 2019, serving as associate director of the Strategic Operations Division, where she worked extensively to promote FinCEN’s strategic partnerships with government and private industry stakeholders. Before FinCen, Tirol oversaw the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section prosecuting public corruption matters. She began her public service as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in San Diego.