The European subsidiary of Gemini announced on Tuesday the appointment of Blair Halliday as its chief compliance officer and Money Laundering reporting officer.
In his new role, Halliday is overseeing the strategic direction of Gemini's compliance program in the UK and Europe. He is also in charge of managing day-to-day regulatory relationships and requirements of the Exchange .
He joined Gemini Europe after his almost 2-year long tenure heading the EMEA compliance team at Circle. Prior to that, he also had years of leadership experience in the same arena in companies, including CashFlow, International Currency Exchange, JP Morgan, and Paysafe.
Commenting on the new appointment, Julian Sawyer, Gemini's managing director of the UK and Europe, said: “As we build our team, Gemini is primed for significant growth in Europe this year. As we continuously iterate on our technology and offering, maintaining compliance and operating within, not around, all relevant legal frameworks will always be our top priority.”
AMLD5 - the hurdle to smooth operation?
Halliday’s onboarded the European subsidiary of the New York-headquartered exchange when Europe enforced the Fifth European Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD5). Considered to be a harsh set of regulations for crypto exchanges, many have moved their bases from the continent to friendly jurisdictions.
“Blair's deep domain expertise makes him uniquely poised to drive Gemini's compliance efforts in the U.K. His leadership will be critical in our mission to work with regulators to promote smart frameworks that encourage growth in the crypto industry,” Sawyer added.
Gemini is strengthening its team across the United States and Europe with many major new appointments. Sawyer himself joined the European subsidiary last month from Starling Bank, a leading mobile bank in the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, the Winklevoss-backed exchange also focusing on its international expansion and is now operating in Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Australia apart from the US and Europe.
