India FIU-IND Issues Non-Compliance Notices to 15 Offshore Crypto Platforms

TechFlow reports that on September 9, according to CoinDesk, the Financial Intelligence Unit of India (FIU-IND) issued non-compliance notices to 15 small and mid-sized offshore cryptocurrency platforms—Weex, Blofin, Rezorex, Bitunix, DigiFinex, Toobit, XT.com, Latoken, WOO X, Pionex, ChangeNow, SimpleSwap, Fixedfloat, WhiteBIT, and Guardarian—under Section 13 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act. The notice alleges that these platforms were illegally providing services to Indian users without registering with the FIU-IND.

Since March 2023, India has integrated cryptocurrency platforms into an anti-money laundering regulatory framework comparable to that of banks, mandating that all platforms serving Indian users, regardless of whether they maintain physical offices in the country, complete registration and fulfill obligations including customer identity verification and suspicious transaction reporting. In light of this enforcement action, reports indicate that Indian users are circumventing regulations by transferring USDT to overseas platforms to purchase gift cards. The FIU-IND has also cautioned the public that cryptocurrency products and NFTs are unregulated and carry substantial risks, noting that related financial losses may not be eligible for regulatory redress.