India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has directed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to initiate a ban on the URLs of nine major cryptocurrency exchanges that have failed to adhere to anti-money laundering regulations. The list includes global leading platforms like Binance, Kraken, Huobi and Kucoin.
Despite mandates for all virtual asset service providers (VASPs) operating in India to implement know-your-customer protocols and register under the country’s Prevention of Money Laundering Act, several exchanges have fallen out of compliance. After issuing show cause notices to non-registered exchanges, India’s FIU says a lack of response has forced harsher action in blocking access.
While 31 VASPs are currently registered in the country, the FIU notes “certain Virtual Asset Exchanges who are not coming forward and getting registered” under required anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing frameworks. This gap has prompted the URL ban of nine unnamed but “major” exchanges. With crypto regulation heating up globally, the incident highlights India’s strict stance on mandatory compliance by exchanges.
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