The Indian Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted a search of the offices and residences of CoinSwitch Kuber and its CEO and directors. The Financial Crimes Agency is reportedly investigating possible violations of the Foreign Exchange Maintenance Act (FEMA).
ED officials find senior executives at CoinSwtich Kuber, an a16z-backed cryptocurrency exchange focused on India, media reports say , they do not cooperate with the investigation.
“We receive inquiries from various government agencies. Our approach has always been transparent. Encryption is an early-stage industry with a lot of potential, and we are continuously engaging with all stakeholders,” an unnamed CoinSwitch spokesperson said in a statement on the latest development.
ED Explore 10 Indian Exchanges
Earlier this month, CryptoPotato reported that the ED is investigating ten crypto exchanges for money laundering More than $125 million. The exchanges reportedly helped suspicious Indian companies buy 10 billion rupees worth of cryptocurrencies and moved those assets to international wallets, mostly linked to illegal online gaming companies in China.
In a similar case, the Education Department earlier this month searched the residence of a director of WazirX and froze a bank account , with a balance of nearly $8 million. The incident sparked a Twitter spat between Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) and WazirX CEO Nischal Shetty. While CZ expressed concerns about the way WazirX manages its affairs, Shetty claims the exchange is owned by Binance.
In another crackdown on cryptocurrency trading platforms, ED recently froze the bank accounts of the Flipvolt cryptocurrency exchange, which Also runs the Defi platform Vauld with an almost $45 million balance. Investigators have accused Flipvolt of helping some fintech companies avoid conventional banking channels and divert huge sums of money they earned through predatory lending.
CoinSwitch: India’s second crypto unicorn
In October last year, CoinSwitch Kuber closed a $260 million Series C round from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Coinbase Ventures, among others.
valued at $1.9 billion. In a recent interview with Reuters, CoinSwitch Kuber CEO Ashish Singhal argued for regulatory clarity, certainty and peace. Earlier this month, CoinSwitch announced the launch of the Web3 Discovery Fund, a venture capital program.
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Earlier this month, CryptoPotato reported that the ED is investigating ten crypto exchanges for money laundering More than $125 million. The exchanges reportedly helped suspicious Indian companies buy 10 billion rupees worth of cryptocurrencies and moved those assets to international wallets, mostly linked to illegal online gaming companies in China.
In a similar case, the Education Department earlier this month searched the residence of a director of WazirX and froze a bank account , with a balance of nearly $8 million. The incident sparked a Twitter spat between Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) and WazirX CEO Nischal Shetty. While CZ expressed concerns about the way WazirX manages its affairs, Shetty claims the exchange is owned by Binance.
In another crackdown on cryptocurrency trading platforms, ED recently froze the bank accounts of the Flipvolt cryptocurrency exchange, which Also runs the Defi platform Vauld with an almost $45 million balance. Investigators have accused Flipvolt of helping some fintech companies avoid conventional banking channels and divert huge sums of money they earned through predatory lending.
CoinSwitch: India’s second crypto unicorn
In October last year, CoinSwitch Kuber closed a $260 million Series C round from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Coinbase Ventures, among others.
valued at $1.9 billion. In a recent interview with Reuters, CoinSwitch Kuber CEO Ashish Singhal argued for regulatory clarity, certainty and peace. Earlier this month, CoinSwitch announced the launch of the Web3 Discovery Fund, a venture capital program.
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PrimeXBT Special Offer: Use this link to sign up and enter code POTATO50 to get up to $7,000 in deposits.
In October last year, CoinSwitch Kuber closed a $260 million Series C round from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Coinbase Ventures, among others.
valued at $1.9 billion. In a recent interview with Reuters, CoinSwitch Kuber CEO Ashish Singhal argued for regulatory clarity, certainty and peace. Earlier this month, CoinSwitch announced the launch of the Web3 Discovery Fund, a venture capital program.
Binance Free $100 (exclusive): Use this link Sign up and get $100 free and 10% discount on Binance fees for the first month of futures (Terms).
PrimeXBT Special Offer: Use this link to sign up and enter code POTATO50 to get up to $7,000 in deposits.
