The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Finance Ministry has issued show cause notices to nine offshore cryptocurrency and virtual digital assets platforms, including major players like Binance and Kucoin, for non-compliance with anti-money laundering laws.
The FIU, responsible for enforcing the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in India, has urged the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to block the URLs of these entities operating illegally. Alongside Binance and Kucoin, other platforms such as Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, and Bitfenex have also received notices for failing to register as reporting entities with the FIU-India.
The PMLA mandates registration for virtual digital asset service providers (VDA SPs) engaged in activities like asset exchange, transfers, and safekeeping, regardless of their physical presence in India.
The FIU's action is part of compliance measures, aiming to bring offshore entities under the Anti Money Laundering/Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML-CFT) framework. While 31 VDA SPs have registered with FIU-IND to date, the move addresses concerns about certain offshore platforms catering to Indian users evading registration and falling outside AML and CFT regulations.
