India has imposed money laundering provisions on the cryptocurrency sector, the latest step by the government to tighten oversight of digital assets.
The Finance Ministry said in a notice on Tuesday that anti-money laundering legislation has been applied to crypto trading, safekeeping and related financial services.
The move by India aligns with a global trend of requiring digital-asset platforms “to follow anti-money laundering standards similar to those followed by other regulated entities like banks or stock brokers,” said Jaideep Reddy, counsel at law firm Trilegal.
Last year India implemented more stringent tax rules on the crypto sector, including applying a levy on trading. Those moves, as well as a global rout in digital assets, caused a plunge in domestic trading volumes.
India’s Enforcement Directorate, which has the mandate to investigate money laundering and forex violation cases, has already been probing crypto companies including exchanges CoinSwitch Kuber and WazirX.
The latest anti-money laundering measure “is concerning as implementing the requisite compliance measures is likely to require time and resources,” Reddy said.