Binance Set For India Return As FIU-Registered Entity

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Significant news: Binance is coming back to India as a legally registered business with the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit under the Finance Ministry.

In January, the Indian government put a stop to the operations of the globe’s biggest cryptocurrency trading platform. However, they have since pledged to comply with all applicable laws, such as the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the Income Tax Department’s Virtual Digital Assets (VDA) taxation guidelines.

Binance Makes India Return 

Based on the news, Binance intends to resume operations in India as a legally registered business under the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). The FIU is responsible for monitoring financial transactions involving virtual digital assets in India. Following the Indian government’s expansion of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to cover Virtual Digital Asset (VDA) platforms, Binance has pledged to adhere to and comply with all applicable laws, including PMLA and the VDA tax regulations. In the past, Binance had reportedly ignored these regulations.

Indian authorities reiterated that India’s stance on international cryptocurrency platforms remains unchanged, requiring these platforms to comply with all applicable local regulations if they aim to persist in India’s market. An official statement noted, “Cryptocurrency exchanges must abide by our laws to legally function within the country.”

“Regrettably, Binance discovered after over two years that there’s no chance for compromise and that even major entities cannot demand exceptions, with potential risks to a nation’s financial infrastructure being a significant concern.”

The Financial Intelligence Unit sent warnings to nine cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance and KuCoin, for failing to adhere to certain provisions of India’s anti-money laundering regulations. They also contacted the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to restrict access to these platforms. Binance was removed from Indian app stores and its website was blocked as a result. Nevertheless, Binance had been negotiating with the Indian authorities to enable users in India to use their app and website once again.

Negotiations With The Government 

Previously, Binance expressed readiness to pay taxes and fines but was not yet prepared to follow the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) regulations. However, the authorities refused Binance’s plea to restart partial operations until they implemented necessary compliance measures in accordance with the nation’s laws, which now cover Virtual Digital Asset (VDA) platforms. Several VDA platforms like CoinDCX, WazirX, Coinswitch, and Zebpay have already registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit.

Binance is set to be the second international cryptocurrency exchange to resume business in India following KuCoin. In contrast, other exchanges like OKX have ceased their India operations entirely due to regulatory challenges.

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2024-04-18 12:16