HSBC executive Stuart Levey to run Facebook-backed Libra cryptocurrency 

The Facebook-backed Libra cryptocurrency project has appointed a former US finance foreign policy chief as its first chief executive as it seeks to win the favour of global regulators.

Stuart Levey, currently chief legal officer at HSBC, is a former head of the US Treasury’s department overseeing terrorism and national security, where he was known for using the dollar as a weapon for cutting off funding to terrorist groups.

Appointed in 2004 by President George Bush and the first to hold the role, he oversaw sanctions on Iran by pressuring foreign banks not to do business with the country, and also focused on stopping money from wealthy Saudi Arabian donors reaching al Qaeda.

His appointment comes as the Libra Association, which held its first board meeting in October and until now has been governed by leaders from its remaining member companies, seeks to mollify finance chiefs concerned that the project could weaken monetary policy, facilitate financial crime and undermine…