ED attaches ₹4,190 cr in crypto cases, declares one as fugitive offender

The Enforcement Directorate has attached proceeds of crime worth ₹4,189.89 crore in crypto-related cases under the anti-money laundering law and declared one accused as a Fugitive Economic Offender, Parliament was informed on Monday.

Besides, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has also detected undisclosed income of ₹888.82 crore from virtual digital assets (VDA) transactions during search and seizure operations.

The CBDT has sent 44,057 communications to taxpayers who invested or traded in VDAs but did not report these in Schedule VDA of their Income Tax Returns (ITRs), Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.

The government has also brought VDAs under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA).

"The Enforcement Directorate has investigated several crypto-related cases under PMLA, attaching/seizing/freezing proceeds of crime worth ₹4,189.89 crore, arresting 29 persons, and filing 22 prosecution complaints. One accused has been declared a Fugitive Economic Offender," Chaudhary said.

He said crypto-assets/Virtual Digital Assets are unregulated in India, and the government is undertaking capacity-building initiatives to strengthen monitoring and investigation of VDA-related transactions.

As crypto assets are inherently borderless, they require strong international coordination to prevent regulatory arbitrage.

"Therefore, any regulatory framework for crypto assets can be effective only with significant international collaboration on the evaluation of the risks and benefits and the evaluation of common taxonomy and standards," Chaudhary said.