India To Block Crypto Exchange Websites In Widening Crackdown

(Bloomberg) -- India clamped down on overseas crypto exchanges like Binance that it says are operating illegally there, moving to block local access to their websites. 

The Financial Intelligence Unit issued so-called compliance show-cause notices to several platforms including Binance, Kraken, KuCoin and Huobi. It also asked the information ministry to block the URLs of the nine entities, according to a statement late Thursday. 

“Several offshore entities though catering to a substantial part of Indian users were not getting registered and coming under the Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Financing of Terrorism (CFT) framework,” the FIU said in the statement. 

India’s government this year imposed money-laundering provisions on the crypto sector as it tightens oversight of digital assets along with other countries. In 2022, authorities delivered a major blow to local crypto exchanges by introducing a tax on transactions that caused trading volumes to plummet.

A show-cause notice is issued when an individual or entity is suspected of misconduct. It is an official request to demonstrate that the person or entity is complying with Indian laws.

Local exchanges have complained that the new tax drove Indian crypto traders to offshore platforms that didn’t impose the levy, further hurting their revenues. CoinDCX Chief Executive Officer Sumit Gupta in October estimated that 95% of trading volume has moved to offshore venues. 

Bloomberg News reported in 2021 that India’s anti-money laundering agency was examining if Binance had a role to play in an investigation involving betting apps. A Binance spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Binance, the largest crypto exchange, has come under increased pressure from regulators around the world in the past year. In November, the company agreed to pay $4.3 billion as it pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering and US sanction violations. As part of the agreement with US authorities, co-founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao agreed to step down. 

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