The Financial Intelligence Unit under the Ministry of Finance has imposed a fine of ₹18.82 crore on Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, for allegedly violating the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. India requires virtual digital asset service providers like crypto exchanges to be registered with the FIU as a reporting entity and comply with its anti-money laundering rules.
Binance was one of the nine offshore crypto exchanges referred to as virtual digital asset service providers that received a notice dated December 28, 2023, from the FIU-IND for not complying with the PMLA law. These entities were then banned from operating in India “illegally” without registration with the intelligence unit in January this year.
Binance and KuCoin were the two of these nine exchanges that eventually registered with the intelligence unit to resume their…