India’s finance minister has cautioned investors about cryptocurrency as the country’s enforcement board of directors (ED) investigates a variety of crypto exchanges and freezes the assets of some trading platforms.
Indian Finance Minister Cautions About Crypto
Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman reportedly warned about cryptocurrency Saturday at an occasion organized by the BJP Economic Cell. She cautioned the general public and entrepreneurs that cryptocurrency isn't currency, stating:
The government has already warned. I think all of us will have to be compelled to share our thoughts and move with a bit of caution on this.
On Thursday, News18 reportable that the finance minister asked investors to exercise caution on crypto, emphasizing that a new law on cryptocurrency is coming soon.
Her statements came as India’s enforcement directorate (ED) probes cryptocurrency exchanges in regard to its money-laundering investigations. The law enforcement agency has frozen the assets of a minimum of two cryptocurrency exchanges this month. Wazirx‘s bank assets value of $8 million were frozen on August. 5 and Vault's bank and crypto assets value of $46 million were frozen last week.
Responding to the ED’s allegations, Vault released an announcement Saturday revealing that it fully cooperated with the ed and provided all the required info and documents after receiving a summons in July. Noting that the freeze order is particular to one client whose account was deactivated after using the exchange’s services for a brief period of time, the corporate stressed:
We respectfully disagree with the freezing order. we have a tendency to follow strict KYC requirements in every country, including India.
“We are seeking legal recommendation on our greatest course of action in order to guard the interests of the company, its customers, and all the stakeholders,” Vauld detailed.
(Kevin Helms, Bitcoin.com, 2022)