The biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, Binance, along with competitor KuCoin, were barred for “operating illegally” for several months before India’s anti-money laundering agency confirmed their approval—making them the first offshore cryptocurrency-related firms.
Both individuals are officially registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND) of the country, overseen by the Finance Ministry. The highest senior officer of the unit is in charge of the registration process.Around nine offshore businesses were blacklisted at the end of the previous year, including Bitfinex, MEXC Global, Bittrex, Bitstamp, Kraken, Huobi, and Gate.io.
KuCoin has resumed operations after paying a $41,000 fine. Due to the expectation that it will have to pay a fine following a FIU hearing, Binance has not started up again.
Head of FIU-IND Vivek Aggarwal stated, “Binance is registered, but the compliance proceedings are not completed because the amount of penalty has to be decided by me and that hearing is still going on.”
Kraken, Gemini, and Gate.io are among the other approved platforms that have started talks with the authorities. Bitstamp and OKX have both submitted plans to leave the nation.
Even if they started conversations with the FIU, the services of any offshore entity that has not been granted registration with the FIU and received a show cause notice in December are still barred.