Govt issues notices to 15 virtual digital asset service providers

Ziraat Times Team Report

NEW DELHI — The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) has issued notices for non-compliance to 15 Virtual Digital Assets Service Providers (VDA SPs) under Section 13 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The notices have been issued as part of compliance action against entities that have been found to be operating without complying with relevant provisions of the PMLA in India.

The entities named by FIU-IND are:

FIU-IND said its Director, acting as the nodal officer under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, read with Rule 3(1)(d) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2025, has also issued notices concerning the 15 entities.

The notices seek the takedown of applications and URLs providing public access to the entities, which FIU-IND said have been found to be operating illegally without complying with the relevant provisions of the PMLA in India.

VDA service providers brought under AML framework

Virtual Digital Assets Service Providers were brought within the ambit of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework under the PMLA in March 2023.

According to FIU-IND, VDA SPs operating in India, whether offshore or onshore, and engaged in activities including exchange between virtual digital assets and fiat currencies, transfer of virtual digital assets, safekeeping or administration of virtual digital assets, or instruments enabling control over virtual digital assets, are required to register with FIU-IND as Reporting Entities.

Such entities are required to comply with obligations mandated under the PMLA and rules framed under it.

FIU-IND said these obligations are activity-based and are not contingent on the physical presence of an entity in India.

The regulatory framework imposes reporting, record-keeping and other obligations on VDA SPs under the PMLA, including registration with FIU-IND.

FIU-IND issues public safety warning

FIU-IND also cautioned the general public about the risks associated with crypto products and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

It said crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky, adding that there may be no regulatory recourse for losses arising from such transactions.