Crypto.com Names Mohammed Mortajine Compliance Chief after Alvarez Exit
Crypto.com has turned to a payments-industry compliance executive to lead its global programme as the company’s business expands beyond crypto trading.Mohammed Mortajine will oversee compliance across a group that also offers payment services, derivatives and prediction markets through entities operating under different rules.It gives Crypto.com a new compliance chief whose experience spans both financial technology and cross-border payments, according to the company’s announcement.Payments Experience and a Change in Leadership Mortajine previously held senior compliance roles at Western Union, ACI Worldwide and Paysafe. Crypto.com said he has managed programmes spanning more than 200 countries and territories and built teams working across multiple jurisdictions.“I’m excited to join at this moment and build upon this foundation transforming the function into a world-class compliance operation, earning the trust of regulators, partners, and consumers as the company continues to grow,” Mortajine said.He takes charge after the departure of Alvarez, who joined Crypto.com as Chief Compliance Officer in 2020. Bloomberg reported in August that Alvarez would join Binance as deputy to its Chief Compliance Officer, Noah Perlman.Crypto.com has not said how responsibilities were handled between those departures and Mortajine’s appointment.Different Rules for Payments and Prediction Markets Mortajine’s payments background has a clear application in Europe, where some of Crypto.com’s stablecoin services fall under both crypto and payment-services rules.Its Malta-based MiCA-regulated entity received a Limited Financial Institutions licence in February 2026, after obtaining MiCA authorisation the previous year. The second licence allows the entity to continue providing payment services involving electronic money tokens.Prediction markets bring a different set of questions. In September, the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform requested documents from Crypto.com as part of an inquiry into potential insider trading on event-contract platforms.The request is not a finding that the company breached any rules. The committee asked, among other things, whether customer-verification procedures differ between Crypto.com Derivatives North America and the group’s international exchange.It also sought information on how the platforms identify suspicious trades and prevent users from bypassing geographic restrictions. The inquiry therefore concerns how controls operate across the group’s businesses, including records of suspicious activity referred to US authorities.