The government has requested the blocking of access to nine cryptocurrency exchanges.

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 The government has requested the blocking of access to nine cryptocurrency exchanges

The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) has formally requested the Indian government to block access to nine international cryptocurrency exchanges. In an official statement released on Thursday, the central agency, FIU-IND, cited non-compliance with anti-money laundering regulations as the reason for issuing notices to the Union government. Notable exchanges included in the list are Binance, Bittrex, Huobi, and MEXC Global. The FIU-IND, reporting directly to the Economic Intelligence Council headed by the Union finance minister, has issued compliance Show Cause Notices under Section 13 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

The statement disclosed that the Director of FIU-IND has written to the secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) urging the blocking of URLs associated with these exchanges, which are allegedly operating without adhering to the provisions of the PML Act in India.

Cryptocurrency exchanges fall under the category of Virtual Digital Assets Service Providers (VDA SPs), enabling users to store, buy, or sell cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether. The lack of regulation for cryptocurrencies has raised concerns globally, with officials and regulators viewing them as potential threats to financial stability. The statement emphasized that compliance with the PML Act, including reporting, record-keeping, and registration with the FIU-IND, is obligatory for VDA SPs, irrespective of their physical presence in India.




While 31 VDA SPs have registered with the FIU-IND to date, several offshore entities catering to a significant portion of Indian users have neglected to register with the agency.

The nine entities targeted by the FIU-IND are as follows: Binance (with addresses linked to tax havens like Seychelles and the Cayman Islands), Kucoin (linked from Seychelles and Singapore), Huobi (Hong Kong and Singapore), Kraken (British Virgin Islands), Gate.io (Cayman Islands), Bittrex (United States), Bitstamp (Luxembourg, London, British Virgin Islands, and New York), MEXC Global (Singapore and Seychelles), and Bitfinex (British Virgin Islands).

Financial Intelligence Unit-India
FIU-IND
Indian government
Cryptocurrency exchanges
Binance
Bittrex
Huobi
MEXC Global
Official statement
Money laundering

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