These entities include Binance, KuCoin, Gate.io, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, and major players such as Bitfinex and Huobi.

India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has taken strict action against nine offshore virtual asset service providers (VASPs) for failing to comply with India’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws, according to a December 28 statement. These entities, including major players such as Binance, KuCoin, and Huobi, have received reminder notices under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), marking a significant escalation in India’s enforcement of financial regulations in the digital asset space.

Unregistered operation

The move follows the inclusion of VASPs in the AML-CFT framework in March 2023, underscoring India’s commitment to regulating the rapidly evolving virtual asset industry. The FIU’s action targets entities that are unregistered and non-compliant with the PMLA, which requires them to respond and explain their operations with respect to Indian users. The list of entities that received the notice includes global names such as Binance, which has operations at multiple global addresses, as well as KuCoin, Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, and Bitfinex.

These agencies, which hail from various jurisdictions including Seychelles, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, United States, Luxembourg and Cayman Islands, are now under scrutiny for their operations involving Indian users. To further strengthen regulation, the FIU IND director has asked the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to block the URLs of these entities on the grounds that they are operating illegally without complying with Indian laws.

31 registered entities

The move is part of a broader effort to protect India’s financial system from risks posed by unregulated virtual asset trading.

These developments highlight the Indian government’s stance that regardless of the physical presence of VASPs, as long as they provide services to Indian users, they must comply with local laws. Currently, 31 VASPs have successfully registered with the FIU and are fully compliant with the AML and CFT frameworks. The action against these nine offshore entities sends a clear message of India’s strong willingness to enforce its financial regulations, especially in the context of the growing prominence of virtual assets.

Compliance requirements include not only registration but also strict reporting, record keeping and adherence to PMLA. #印度 #交易所合规