Crypto platforms face crack down
The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) has issued notice to 15 Virtual Digital Assets Service Providers (VDA SPs) for non-compliance with anti-money laundering law and asked the entities to take down their application and URLs for public access.
The Director of FIU-IND issued the notices under Section 13 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, targeting entities operating without meeting India’s anti-money laundering obligations. In a parallel step, the same official, acting as nodal officer under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, read with Rule 3(1)(d) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2025, also sought removal of the platforms’ apps and URLs from public access.
The 15 companies named include Weex International Exchange Ltd (Weex), BLF Global Limited (Blofin), RezorEx (Rezorex), Bitunix LLC (Bitunix), DigiFinex Ltd (DigiFinex), Hopeful Technology Co. Ltd.
(Toobit), Fibtc Ltd/XT Technical Pte. Ltd. (XT.com), LAtrade Ltd (Latoken), Wootech Limited (WOO X), Marketa Trading Inc. (Pionex), CHN Group LLC (ChangeNow), SimpleSwap Ltd (SimpleSwap), FFGX Group LLC (Fixedfloat), UAB Clear White Technologies (WhiteBIT), and FinSeven CZ (Guardarian).
Most of the companies named are mid-sized or offshore exchanges and swap services, not the biggest global brands that already work with Indian regulators. Many retail traders use these platforms for derivatives, instant swaps or easy-to-use features.
VDA SPs operating in India, whether offshore or onshore, and engaged in activities like exchange of virtual digital assets and fiat currencies, and transfer of virtual digital assets, are required to be registered with FIU-IND as reporting entity and comply with Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). These obligations are activity-based and are not contingent on physical presence of the entity in India.
Registered companies have to keep records, check customer backgrounds, monitor transactions, and send reports to FIU-IND.
Users may have trouble withdrawing their funds from these platforms. The Government has not said anything about compensation or ways for users to recover assets affected by these actions. The Ministry of Finance has issued a general warning. It said crypto products and non-fungible tokens are still unregulated in India and can be risky.
