Enforcement agencies have highlighted risks related to money laundering and terror financing, prompting closer scrutiny of crypto platforms operating in India.
Mirroring the traditional hawala system, where money is sent through non-banking channels, this digital version uses the anonymity of unregulated cryptocurrency to erase the financial trail and inject cash into the domestic economy.
Under the new rules, users must take a "live selfie" using software that verifies their presence, typically through eye-blinking or head movement. The measure helps prevent the use of static photos or deepfakes.
'Foreign capital will continue to come directly into India, but companies have realised that GIFT City is a more cost-efficient way of channelling funds.'
A 57-year-old woman in Bengaluru was allegedly defrauded of approximately Rs 32 crore in a 'digital arrest' scam. Posing as CBI officers, fraudsters coerced her into sharing financial details and making numerous bank transfers over six months.
A trends study conducted by India's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has expressed suspicion that cryptocurrency is being used across the country in serious criminal acts like terrorist financing, fuelling secessionist activities, cybercrime, narcotics trafficking, illegal betting and gambling. The report, which was based on suspicious transaction reports and operational analysis, shared these trends and credible intelligence with law enforcement agencies.
Financial Intelligence Unit detects over Rs 7,800 cr blackmoney.
Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat has directed the Citizenship Commission to cancel the passport issued to former Indian Premier League (IPL) founder Lalit Modi, citing his attempt to avoid extradition. Modi had applied to surrender his Indian passport to the Indian High Commission in London, but the Vanuatu government stated that Interpol twice rejected India's request for an alert notice due to lack of evidence. The statement emphasized that holding a Vanuatu passport is a privilege, not a right, and applicants must seek citizenship for legitimate reasons, which does not include evading extradition.
Bangladesh Bank's Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) sent these directives to different banks and financial institutions on Thursday, suspending all types of transactions in these accounts for a month, the Prothom Alo newspaper reported.
An Enforcement Directorate team undertaking searches in a cyber fraud linked money laundering case was allegedly attacked in New Delhi on Thursday, officials said.
User protection and a proposal for a licensing framework for companies seeking to operate in the cryptocurrency area will be part of an upcoming consultation paper on the sector, said a senior industry executive. Even as specific regulations around crypto are yet to take shape, companies are setting up baseline user protection processes, including a redressal mechanism, fraud detection, regular filing of suspicious transaction reports (STRs), among others.
Regularly monitor your account for any suspicious activity. Keep your devices updated with the latest security patches to prevent vulnerabilities. Ensure the physical wallet you use is stored securely to avoid loss or theft.
Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) has imposed a Rs 5.49 crore penalty on Paytm Payments Bank for violating anti-money laundering rules, the Finance Ministry said on Friday. FIU-IND initiated a review of Paytm Payments Bank on receipt of specific information from law enforcement agencies in respect of few entities and their network of businesses engaged in a number of illegal acts, including organising and facilitating online gambling.
'A lot of them are converted to other tokens, and since crypto is dealt with internationally, it can go to any exchange in any country.'
Only investors with knowledge of cryptocurrencies, long-term conviction, and a long horizon should invest in this asset class.
DAP does not consider past I-T returns to match a taxpayer's resources with their expenditures or investments, points out Harsh Roongta.
WazirX lost about 45 per cent of its crypto assets to the security breach. People privy to the discussions say North Korea has been mentioned.
The swindled amount is nearly half of WazirX's total assets.
The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-India), the national agency responsible for analysing suspicious financial transactions, has received requests from four more offshore crypto exchanges to operate in India again, said a senior government official familiar with the matter. In the beginning of 2024, India had banned nine crypto exchanges - Binance, Kucoin, Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, Bittrex, and Bitfenix - for non-compliance with anti-laundering law in the country.
The regulatory gap between crypto firms registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-India) and unregistered offshore entities is expected to narrow, industry players said, after global crypto players Binance and KuCoin received approvals to register with India's anti-money laundering unit.
The senior IPS officer said that 45 percent of cyber financial frauds taking place in the country are originating from the South East Asia.
The cryptocurrency exchanges in India have got a fresh lease of life following the bull run in Bitcoin, which briefly hit a new all-time high of more than $69,000. Siddharth Sogani, managing director of CREBACO, expects the price to cross $1,00,000 by the end of the year. This will see a sharp reversal in the Indian market, which has largely been dormant since the new tax regime was implemented in 2023.
Has Vijay Shekhar Sharma given up on the bank? For now, he seems to be on a save-OCL mission. The bank will face its logical end, observes Tamal Bandopadhyay.
The government has allowed the Enforcement Directorate to share information about economic offenders with 15 more agencies, including SFIO, CCI and NIA, a move that will expedite nailing of law-breakers. The finance ministry notified changes to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, on November 22. Through the notification, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which deals primarily with cases of money laundering and violations of foreign exchange laws, would be able to share data with a total of 25 agencies, including the 10 specified earlier.
The government has imposed anti-money laundering provisions on cryptocurrencies or virtual assets as it looks to tighten oversight of digital assets. In a gazette notification, the Finance Ministry said the anti-money laundering legislation has been applied to crypto trading, safekeeping and related financial services. After this, Indian crypto exchanges will have to report suspicious activity to the Financial Intelligence Unit India (FIU-IND).
To further tighten its control of practising accountants, the Centre has brought within the ambit of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) their "financial transactions" such as operating and managing their client firms and trusts, and buying and selling business entities. The Union finance ministry issued a gazette notification on this on Wednesday. Under the new rule, chartered accountants, company secretaries, and cost and works accountants carrying out such transactions (on behalf of their clients) will now be required to go through the Know Your Company (KYC) process before commencing work.
Irani said the show of strength by the Congress is aimed at putting pressure on the probe agency, and asserted that nobody is above the law "even Rahul Gandhi".
Security and intelligence agencies will soon be provided with a new platform which is technologically advanced, secure and helpful in dealing with new age criminals and anti-social elements, officials said on Wednesday.
Significantly, for the first time, the FATF put Myanmar in the "high risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action", often referred to as the watchdog's black list.
The quizzing of the 48-year-old daughter-in-law of superstar Amitabh Bachchan and Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan comes weeks after her husband Abhishek Bachchan was questioned by the agency in another case emerging from the same set of papers linked to the offshore leaks case, they said.
The Financial Intelligence Unit will apply a multi-pronged approach in probing black money, counterfeit currency, terror funds and hawala transactions as it believes they are all interlinked, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
"Had corona (COVID-19) not been there, the prime minister would have dedicated NATGRID to the country. I am hopeful that the prime minister will dedicate NATGRID to the country in some time," Union home minister Amit Shah said during the 51st Foundation Day event of the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) here on September 4.
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the federal economic snoop agency under the Union finance ministry, sent 289 legal requests to its counterparts across the globe during 2018-19 as compared to 177 in 2017-18 and 138 in 2016-17.
Pakistan will remain on the 'grey list' of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) until it further demonstrates that action is being taken against Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammed founder Masood Azhar who are listed as global terrorists by the United Nations, the global anti-money laundering and terror financing watchdog said on Thursday.
'Whatever ED officers do -- issue summons, conduct searches or arrest a person -- they have to face the courts.'
The poll-panel called these seizures by its various field and technical enforcement teams a "historic milestone" achieved "for the first time in any assembly electoral process", meaning during simultaneously-held assembly polls.
Since arraignment under money laundering is a tougher offence, the CBDT hopes it will also overcome its dismal score sheet to prove satisfactorily to the courts that these cases were genuine ones of tax evasion.
The income tax department will share PAN and bank account details of any entity with 10 investigative and intelligence agencies, including the CBI and NIA, under the integrated counter-terrorism platform NATGRID, according to an official order.
Financial Intelligence Unit will also provide information in this regard to the Income Tax department.
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