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Notices issued under Section 13 of the PMLA; removal of related applications and URLs ordered, public warned of crypto risks
Pooja Srivastava
Anytime News Network
New Delhi: The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) has issued notices for non-compliance to 15 Virtual Digital Assets Service Providers (VDA SPs) under Section 13 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). The action comes as part of the government’s compliance drive against entities operating without meeting applicable anti-money laundering requirements.
The notified entities include Weex, Blofin, Rezorex, Bitunix, DigiFinex, Toobit, XT.com, Latoken, WOO X, Pionex, ChangeNow, SimpleSwap, Fixedfloat, WhiteBIT and Guardarian.
FIU-IND has also issued notices seeking the removal of applications and URLs associated with these entities from public access. According to the agency, the platforms were found to be operating illegally without complying with relevant provisions of the PMLA in India.
The notices have been issued under Section 13 of the PMLA. The FIU-IND director, acting as the nodal officer under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, read with the relevant intermediary rules, has initiated the takedown process.
Virtual Digital Assets Service Providers were brought under India’s anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism framework in March 2023. FIU-IND has stated that VDA SPs operating in India, whether offshore or onshore, are required to register as Reporting Entities and comply with obligations under the PMLA and related rules.
These obligations cover activities such as exchange between virtual digital assets and fiat currencies, transfer of virtual digital assets, safekeeping or administration of digital assets, and services involving instruments that enable control over such assets. The regulatory requirements are activity-based and do not depend on whether an entity has a physical presence in India.
The latest action highlights the regulatory risks faced by digital asset platforms that fail to meet compliance requirements. FIU-IND has also issued a public warning that crypto products and NFTs remain unregulated and can be highly risky.
The agency cautioned that there may be no regulatory recourse for losses arising from such transactions. The warning underlines the importance of understanding the risks before engaging in virtual digital asset transactions.
