Stevan Bunnel, the former general counsel for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been revealed as the Libra Association’s new leading lawyer. Since leaving the Homeland Security Department in 2017, Stevan Bunnell co-chaired the data privacy-focused legal practice O’Melveny & Myers until joining the Libra Association this month. Libra Association is replacing general counsel Robert Werner after three months he was hired. Werner told Bloomberg Law that he chose to depart from the position after it became clear it meant he would have to relinquish an existing position on the boards of directors for Deutsche Bank Trust Co.
Libra Association appointed Robert Werner in May.
Robert Werner’s short stay as general counsel at Libra Association came to an end at some point in August. The former director for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and former senior counsel to The Under Secretary of The Treasury, was appointed by the Libra Association in May. His departure was not publicized, with his name quietly being removed from its executives’ list this month. Bunnell’s appointment comes two weeks after Facebook launched a new product division focused on “payments and commerce opportunities.”
Whatsapp payment feature remains banned in Brazil.
Despite Brazilian regulators lifting a suspension on WhatsApp’s payments, the country’s central bank is still blocking the launch. The Whatsapp payments feature remains suspended in Brazil, despite local regulators easing restrictions placed on its owner, Facebook. Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense, known locally by its Portuguese acronym ‘CADE’, suspended an agreement between Facebook and Brazilian payment firm Cielo to process payments for WhatsApp in June. The authorities reversed the decision, but the WhatsApp payments remain suspended as a result of parallel action taken by Brazil’s central bank.
