FIU-India cracks down on 15 offshore crypto platforms for PMLA violations
FIU-IND has issued non-compliance notices to 15 offshore crypto exchanges and ordered takedown of their apps/URLs for operating illegally in India.
The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) has initiated strict compliance action against fifteen Virtual Digital Assets Service Providers (VDA SPs) for failing to meet their obligations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. Notices have been issued to these entities under Section 13 of the Act for non-compliance with India's anti-money laundering framework.
The list of entities served notices includes major offshore exchanges such as Weex, Bitunix, DigiFinex, XT.com, Latoken, WOO X, Pionex, WhiteBIT, and Guardarian, among others. These platforms are accused of operating in the Indian market without registering with the FIU-IND as reporting entities.
In a parallel move, the Director of FIU-IND, acting as the nodal officer under the Information Technology Act, 2000, has also directed the takedown of the applications and URLs of these platforms. This action restricts public access to services that have been found to be operating illegally without adhering to the relevant provisions of the PMLA.
VDA SPs were brought under the ambit of the Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework in March 2023. The regulations mandate that all platforms—whether based in India or offshore—engaged in activities like crypto-to-fiat exchanges, transfers, or safekeeping of digital assets must register with the FIU-IND. These obligations are activity-based and apply irrespective of the entity's physical presence in the country.
The FIU has cautioned the general public that crypto products and NFTs remain unregulated and carry high risk, with no regulatory recourse available for losses from such transactions.