Global crypto exchange Binance set to start ops in India after 6 months

Registers as reporting entity with FIU

Global crypto exchange Binance on Thursday registered itself as a reporting entity with the Financial Intelligence Unit India (FIU-IND) over six months after receiving a show-cause notice from the finance ministry for non-compliance with the country's anti-money laundering law.

Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, is set to resume operations in India with the registration.

“Recognising the vitality and potential of the Indian VDA (virtual digital assets) market, this alignment with Indian regulations allows us to tailor our services to the needs of Indian users. It is a privilege to extend the reach of our cutting-edge platform to this thriving market, supporting India’s continued VDA evolution,” said Richard Teng, chief executive officer (CEO), Binance, on the company’s blog.

The company stated it is aligning itself with registration requirements in India.

“(Binance) is bringing its world-class compliance programme, which encompasses robust anti-money laundering (AML) policies and controls and a comprehensive framework for combating the financing of terrorism (CFT),” the firm added.

The FIU had imposed a fine of Rs 18.82 crore on Binance for operating in the country in violation of domestic anti-money laundering regulations in June.

In December last year, the finance ministry issued show-cause notices to nine offshore VDA service providers dealing with crypto assets, including Binance, Kucoin, Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, and Bitfinex.

It had requested the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) to block their websites in the country.

Binance’s registration with the FIU comes as another homegrown crypto exchange, WazirX, suffered a security breach leading to a theft of over $230 million.

Experts have cautioned users to read the terms of use before investing in unregulated sectors such as crypto, Business Standard reported Thursday.