ED issues show-cause notice to Mumbai firm over illegal cryptocurrency trade, finds involvement of Chinese nationals

The ED had initiated FEMA investigation on the basis of the ongoing money laundering investigation into Chinese owned illegal online betting applications.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday issued a show-cause notice to a Mumbai-based firm involved in cryptocurrency exchange and its directors Nischal Shetty and Sameer Hanuman Mhatre under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The notice was issued for transactions involving crypto-currency worth Rs 2790.74 crore, officials said. The ED had initiated a 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 found that the accused Chinese nationals had allegedly laundered proceeds of crime worth Rs 57 crore by converting the INR deposits into Crypto-currency Tether (USDT) and then transferring the same to Binance (exchange registered in the Cayman Islands) wallets based on instructions received from abroad.