Binance and eight other offshore exchanges received compliance show-cause letters from India’s Ministry of Finance for operating illegally and violating anti-money laundering regulations.
According to a circular released on December 28, Binance, KuCoin, Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, and Bitfinex were among the companies to which the notices were directed by India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).
In addition, the FIU has started blocking the URLs of non-compliant Virtual Digital Assets Service Providers to isolate local investors from these platforms.
According to FIU’s notification, India’s Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) aligns with the decision to take tough measures against Binance and other overseas exchanges. But no deadline for the warned platforms to react was given.
India’s Ministry requires crypto firms to register with the FIU and adhere to PMLA regulations. As of December 4, 28 cryptocurrency enterprises had registered with the national anti-money laundering agency following the announcement of this action in March. The FIU in India declared:
“The duty is activity-based rather than reliant on being physically present in India. The rule imposes on the VDA SPs the PML Act’s reporting, record-keeping, and other requirements, which also include FIU IND registration.”
In India, cryptocurrencies are still controversial because authorities cannot agree on how to handle this emerging market. Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s Minister of Finance, urged countries to consider blockchain’s advantages and asked for international cooperation in creating a complete crypto framework. The Reserve Bank of India has maintained its position on cryptocurrencies and continued pushing for outright prohibition.
