Offshore crypto platforms with billions of dollars in assets are in the Indian government’s crosshairs, as the government’s financial watchdog moves against 25 exchanges for failing to register and comply with anti-money laundering obligations.

The Financial Intelligence Unit India (FIU-IND) issued[1] notices to 25 crypto exchanges — including BingX, LBank, CoinW, ProBit Global, BTCC, AscendEX, Zoomex, and Poloniex — for failing to comply with the country’s anti-money laundering rules, the Indian finance ministry said on Wednesday. The regulator also ordered the platforms to withdraw their apps and websites from public access in India. However, most remained accessible as of press time.

Of the 25 exchanges, 14 together hold more than $9 billion in assets and recorded about $20 billion in trading volume over the past 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

The affected crypto exchanges including BingX, LBank, CoinW, and ProBit Global did not respond to requests for comments.

While India does not have a dedicated regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, the Indian finance ministry in March 2023 notified that virtual asset service providers would fall under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of 2002. This made it mandatory for crypto exchanges serving Indian users to register with the FIU-IND and comply with its reporting and compliance requirements.

The Indian finance ministry has stated that at least 50 crypto exchanges have so far registered with India’s anti-money laundering watchdog, which has previously taken action[2] against major platforms such as Binance, Coinbase, KuCoin and OKX. OKX exited the Indian market[3] last year, whereas Binance, Coinbase and KuCoin registered with the FIU in recent months to resume operations.

Binance restarted its India operations in August 2024, while Coinbase re-entered India[4] earlier this year. Recently, Coinbase also launched an early-access program[5] for Indian users who had already signed up, though the exchange’s services are not yet fully operational in the country.

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References

  1. ^ issued (www.pib.gov.in)
  2. ^ previously taken action (www.thehindu.com)
  3. ^ exited the Indian market (techcrunch.com)
  4. ^ re-entered India (techcrunch.com)
  5. ^ launched an early-access program (x.com)

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