India’s Financial Intelligence Unit, FIU-IND, has issued compliance notices to 15 offshore virtual digital asset service providers under Section 13 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, according to CoinDesk. The action also calls for the removal of publicly accessible app listings and website URLs for those platforms in India. The named companies are Weex, Blofin, Rezorex, Bitunix, DigiFinex, Toobit, XT.com, Latoken, WOO X, Pionex, ChangeNow, SimpleSwap, Fixedfloat, WhiteBIT and Guardarian. India brought virtual digital asset service providers under its anti-money laundering framework in March 2023. Under that regime, platforms serving Indian users must register with FIU-IND and comply with transaction record-keeping and suspicious activity reporting obligations, even if they do not maintain a legal entity in the country. CoinDesk also noted that FIU-IND had previously questioned nine major offshore exchanges, including Binance, Kraken and KuCoin, in December 2023 and blocked their URLs. Binance later completed registration and paid a fine.
India’s Financial Intelligence Unit, FIU-IND, has issued non-compliance notices to 15 offshore virtual digital asset service providers under Section 13 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, according to CoinDesk. The agency also asked for the removal of publicly accessible app listings and website URLs for those platforms in India.
The 15 platforms named in the action are Weex, Blofin, Rezorex, Bitunix, DigiFinex, Toobit, XT.com, Latoken, WOO X, Pionex, ChangeNow, SimpleSwap, Fixedfloat, WhiteBIT and Guardarian.
AML rules apply even without a local entity
India brought virtual digital asset service providers into its anti-money laundering framework in March 2023. Under the rules, any platform that offers Indian users services such as fiat-to-crypto exchange, asset transfers or custody must register with FIU-IND, even if it does not have an entity in India.
Registered firms are also required to maintain transaction records and file suspicious activity reports.
Previous enforcement hit major offshore exchanges
Before this latest round, FIU-IND sent compliance queries to nine major offshore exchanges, including Binance, Kraken and KuCoin, in December 2023, and blocked their URLs. Binance later completed its registration and paid a fine.
This article was originally published by Bit.Fan. For more cryptocurrency news and market insights, visit www.bit.fan. Disclaimer:
The market information, project data, and third-party content displayed on this platform are for industry information sharing only and do not constitute any form of investment advice or return commitment.
Cryptocurrency trading carries high risks. Users should fully assess their risk tolerance and make independent decisions. All profits, losses, and legal responsibilities are borne by the users themselves.
