ED issues notice to WazirX and its directors for crypto transactions worth Rs 2790 crore

ED initiated FEMA investigation into WazirX on the basis of the ongoing money-laundering investigation into Chinese owned illegal online betting Applications. 

New Delhi: Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has issued a show-cause notice to cryptocurrency exchange WazirX’s officially registered entity M/s Zanmai Labs Pvt Ltd and its directors Nischal Shetty and Sameer Hanuman Mhatre under Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, (FEMA), for transactions involving crypto-currencies worth Rs 2790.74 crore.  ED initiated FEMA investigation on the basis of the ongoing money-laundering investigation into Chinese owned illegal online betting applications. During the course of the investigation, it was seen that the accused Chinese nationals had laundered proceeds of crime worth Rs 57 crore approximately by converting the INR deposits into cryptocurrency Tether (USDT) and then transferring the same to Binance (exchange registered in the Cayman Islands) wallets based on instructions received from abroad.  WazirX allows a wide range of cryptocurrency transactions including INR exchange and vice-versa, person to person (P2P) transactions, and even transfer/receipt of cryptocurrency held in its pool accounts to wallets of other exchanges which could be held by foreigners in foreign locations. Also Read: Bitcoin rises 8.5 percent to $36,265