After nine months in office, Robert W. Werner announced that he will be leaving his position as Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network at the end of the year. He will be accepting a position with Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., as a Managing Director and the head of Merrill Lynch’s Monetary and Financial Control Group and its Bank Compliance Group. Mr. Werner assumes his new position with Merrill Lynch on January 2, 2007. He was appointed Director on February 17, 2006 by then Secretary of the Treasury Snow who also resigned a few months ago. Werner is the second permanent FinCEN chief to depart the job this year. His predecessor, William Fox, resigned on Jan. 30 to join Bank of America Corp.
U.S. Treasury Henry Paulson praised Werner for his public service. In a separate statement he said that “under Bob’s leadership, FinCEN has paved new inroads in partnering with the financial community to safeguard against financial crime while promoting the free flow of capital”.
Deputy Director William F. Baity will act as Director effective upon Mr. Werner’s departure.