Tether Ltd. recruited former anti-money launder quality control manager Leonardo Real as Chief Compliance Officer (CCO). Real, whose previous position was at Bank of Montreal, will be responsible for managing regulatory compliance issues within the organization. The company behind the USDT cryptocurrency announced its new appointment in a press release this Thursday.
“We are all very excited to introduce Leonardo as Chief Compliance Officer at Tether, as he joins us on what has already been a remarkable journey to date disrupting the legacy financial system,” said Jean-Louis van der Velde, CEO of Tether Ltd., in the announcement.
Tether (USDT) is one of the few alt-coins claiming to be backed by fiat money. The company behind the currency claims that they hold $1 in for every USDT in circulation. However, this claim has been challenged by other crypto experts, including cybersecurity expert Tony Arcieri, who published a detailed report in January.
Much of the controversy surrounding the cryptocurrency revolves around its association with the crypto exchange Kraken, and claims that Tether was used to manipulate Bitcoin’s prices to create the Bitcoin spike in December of 2017.
Tether’s new appointment comes after the company has repeatedly denied such claims in the past half year. Leonardo Real’s previous experience includes positions within the finance and funds compliance industries. According to the press release, at Bank of Montreal, Real was in charge of establishing policies and procedures “in line with regulatory requirements”. More importantly, he was also responsible for the quality control of anti-money laundering investigations.
“Joining Tether as CCO is an incredibly exciting move for me personally, and I am particularly impressed by the motivation, dedication, and talent of the Tether team. I look forward to helping showcase Tether’s commitment to transparency and regulatory compliance within the blockchain and cryptocurrency space,” said Tether’s new Chief Compliance Officer.
The press release did not provide specific details on Real’s new position within the company.
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