India's law enforcement agency, Enforcement Directorate (ED) posted earnings of $936 crore related to cryptocurrency fraud at the end of January 2023. While ED arrested five people and filed 6 prosecution complaints (PCs). This was reported on Monday in Lok Sabha.
Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, in a written response to a question in the lower house of Parliament on Monday, said that the Directorate of Compliance is investigating several cases related to cryptocurrency frauds in which some crypto exchanges have also been found involved in money laundering, according to the PTI report.
Chaudhary revealed that as of January 31, 2023, the proceeds of crime amount to $Rs 936 crore has been seized/seized/frozen, 5 people have been arrested and 6 Prosecution Complaints (PCs) including 1 supplementary PC have been filed with the Special Court, PMLA in these cases.
In particular, under the Foreign Exchange Management Act of 1999 (FEMA), the ED seized assets of approximately $289.28 crore, and a show cause notice for cryptocurrency exchange Zanmai Labs, popularly known as WazirXand its principals have been issued for transactions involving cryptocurrencies that are added to $2,790 crores.
The minister also responded about the government's plans to regulate virtual digital assets in the near future.
According to the ministry, regulating virtual assets or banning them can be effective only with significant international collaboration in assessing the risks and benefits and the evolution of taxonomy and common standards.
Recently, Secretary for Economic Affairs Ajay Seth said in an interview that the government is working with the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to at least create a policy for crypto assets along with a regulatory framework. The same is expected to be agreed during India's own G20 presidency.
Last week, the UK government announced that it will set out ambitious plans to robustly regulate crypto-asset activities, providing confidence and clarity to consumers and businesses alike. Under plans, it will seek to regulate a broad set of crypto-asset activities, in keeping with its approach to traditional finance, according to the UK government website.
The need to regulate cryptocurrencies came to the fore as the market faced a severe blow from last year with illiquidity, the collapse of renowned stablecoins, and the bankruptcy of several cryptocurrency exchanges.
Meet your inner investor
Do you have nerves of steel or do your investments give you insomnia? Let's define your investment approach.
catch all business news, market news, Breaking news events and Last News Updates on Live Mint. download the mint news app to get daily market updates.
