Biography

Yaya J. Fanusie is an adjunct fellow at FDD’s Center on Economic and Financial Power. His research focuses on the national security implications of cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and other technological innovations. Yaya spent seven years as both an economic and counterterrorism analyst in the CIA, where he regularly briefed federal law enforcement, U.S. military personnel, and White House-level policy makers—including President George W. Bush whom he personally briefed on terrorism threats in 2008. In 2009, he spent three months in Afghanistan providing analytic support to senior military officials. After government service, Yaya joined a small consulting firm where he led a team of analysts working on a multi-billion-dollar recovery effort involving a global corruption ring.

Yaya is a regular contributor at Forbes and regularly contributes analysis to the media both in print and on broadcast, including on CNN and Fox News. He has testified multiple times before Congress on a range of illicit finance issues.

Yaya received an MA in International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a BA in Economics from The University of California, Berkeley.

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