Bitso, Latin America’s leading crypto-powered financial services company, has appointed Luis Urrutia as its new General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Global Regulatory Affairs. The move signals Bitso’s ambition to strengthen its compliance culture and regulatory presence across the region.
Luis Urrutia is widely recognized as one of Mexico’s foremost experts in financial law and regulation. He studied law at ITAM (Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México) and later earned a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Chicago. His career includes nearly a decade of service at Mexico’s Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, where he served as Deputy Federal Attorney General for Financial Affairs and as the head of the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF). In those roles, he developed Mexico’s first comprehensive framework for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
Urrutia’s leadership extended to the global stage. He held senior roles at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), first as Vice President and later as President, where he helped shape international standards for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing. Afterward, he became General Counsel of the Bank of Mexico before moving to the International Monetary Fund, where he rose to the position of Deputy General Counsel. At the IMF, he oversaw legal work related to financial integrity, fintech regulation, governance, and anti-corruption initiatives, making him the highest-ranking Mexican lawyer in the institution’s legal division.
Reflecting on his appointment, Urrutia said that joining Bitso represents an opportunity to apply his regulatory and compliance expertise to a rapidly evolving fintech sector. He emphasized that Bitso has already established itself as a benchmark for innovation and stability in Latin America, and he hopes to contribute to its mission of expanding financial inclusion across the region.
The appointment highlights Bitso’s commitment to navigating increasingly complex regulatory environments with credibility and foresight. By bringing in a leader of Urrutia’s stature, the company aims to reinforce investor confidence, build stronger relationships with regulators, and set higher industry standards for compliance in the digital asset space.
