As part of its endeavors to combat drug trafficking in India, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is actively tracking cryptocurrency payments on the darknet.
On July 24, Nityanand Rai, the minister of state for home affairs, disclosed India’s present approach to restricting the import and interstate movement of narcotic drugs during a parliamentary discussion.
Data from NCB, India’s nodal drug law enforcement and intelligence agency, indicates that the utilization of cryptocurrencies in drug offenses has been inconsistent over the past five years.
Nevertheless, there has been a consistent rise in the number of narcotic seizures involving darknet and cryptocurrencies since 2022.
Rai presented 13 strategies for combating the escalating issue of narco-terrorism and drug trafficking in India, two of which prioritized the misuse of cryptocurrencies. He stated:
“A Special Task Force on Darknet and Cryptocurrency has been constituted to monitor suspicious transactions related to drugs on Darknet.”
Cryptocurrency Transactions Monitoring
Furthermore, the NCB conducts various training programs on cryptocurrency, darknet, and digital forensics.
Punjab was the state with the highest number of drug trafficking cases in India from 2020 to 2022, as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.
The existing tax regulations will remain identical for another year, as Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not address cryptocurrencies in her 2024 Union Budget speech on July 23.
In January 2024, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Indian Ministry of Finance blocked Binance and several other offshore crypto exchanges for failing to comply with the country’s Anti-Money Laundering Act.
Nevertheless, the Indian government granted the exchange the opportunity to recommence its services on the condition that it pay a $2 million fine for noncompliance.
According to reports, Binance was responsible for over 90% of the Indian crypto trading volume before its ban. However, it intends to reenter the Indian market after obtaining sanction from the Indian financial regulator.
