Tether Appoints Former Bank of Montreal AML Executive as its Chief Compliance Officer

Jean-Louis van der Velde, Chief Executive Officer of Bitfinex
Jean-Louis van der Velde, Chief Executive Officer of Bitfinex

Tether, the tokenized cryptocurrency that represents a real currency in the blockchain market has announced the appointment of a traditional financial industry veteran, Leonardo Real, as Chief Compliance Officer (CCO). Leonardo Real is a former AML Quality Control Manager at the Bank of Montreal.

Leonardo, an experienced traditional financial professional has an in-depth knowledge of the compliance industry. In Bank of Montreal, he was responsible for establishing best practices, policies, and procedures in accordance with regulatory requirements to enhance the quality of the bank’s AML investigations. Prior to this role, Leonardo was associated with Bridgeforce Financial, a leading Managing General Agents (MGA) in Canada. He has also experience in working in financial day, stock and futures trading.

Leonardo Real is a proven thought leader in the industry and has lately shifted his interest towards the emerging cryptocurrency and blockchain sector. In August 2016, he organized a Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and AML event in Toronto, Canada bringing together regulators, brokers, law enforcement professionals and companies in the blockchain space to discuss on the responsible use of cryptocurrencies. 

Real has also co-authored the 2016 ACAMS Today Article of the Year which focused on money laundering risks associated with cryptocurrencies.

Jean-Louis van der Velde, Chief Executive Officer of Tether commented on Leonardo’s appointment as CCO:

“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. His depth of experience managing AML risk in capital markets, as well as the wealth management and commercial banking sectors, combined with his proven expertise in quality control management and strategy formulation will make him an invaluable asset to our company. All of us at Tether have every confidence in his ability to oversee and manage all relevant compliance issues as we continue to move forward and grow.”

He further added: “We are particularly excited to announce this key hire at a seminal point in the life of the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector. As the industry matures, all actors within the space shall be expected to meet a higher standard of industry best practices. As Tether continues to work to realise our vision of total transparency and unparallelled security within the cryptocurrency market, we will always endeavour to set the gold standard in regulatory compliance. Leonardo will play an important role in realising these aims, and we are very excited to welcome him aboard as we look forward to all that lies ahead.”

Leonardo Real commented on his appointment:

“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. As a longtime advocate of blockchain technology and the integration of cryptocurrencies into the mainstream, I am looking forward to putting my experience in AML and regulatory compliance in traditional financial institutions to use, to ensure that the Tether project can continue its work disrupting traditional industries.”