Binance Resumes Operations In India, Registers With Financial Intelligence Unit

Clearing all decks for its re-entry in India, crypto exchange Binance said it has registered as a reporting entity with the finance ministry’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND).

With this, Binance has resumed operations in the country and its website and app are now available for Indian users. 

For the uninitiated, FIU oversees trade in virtual digital assets (VDA) and ensures compliance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the VDA taxation framework. All crypto exchanges are bound by law to register as reporting entities to offer crypto trading services in India.

“Our registration with the FIU-IND marks an important milestone in Binance’s journey. Recognising the vitality and potential of the Indian VDA market, this alignment with Indian regulations allows us to tailor our services to the needs of Indian users…,’ said Binance CEO Richard Teng in a statement.

The crypto exchange said it plans to foster “responsible growth” and ensure stronger user protections going forward in the country. It also said that it will deploy robust policies and frameworks to combat the financing of terrorism (CFT) and curb money laundering as part of its India re-entry. 

“Alongside rigorous AML and CFT controls, key components of Binance’s compliance program include robust identity verification (know your customer, or KYC) processes and an industry-leading financial crimes compliance (FCC) unit designed to assist law enforcement in investigating crypto-related crimes and capacity-building, thereby fortifying the collaborative security of the ecosystem,” the company added. 

Binance has resumed operations in India eight months after the finance ministry issued notices to nine overseas crypto platforms, including Binance, for neither registering as a reporting entity nor complying with provisions of the anti-money laundering laws.

The FIU also wrote to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to block the websites of the nine entities. Quickly afterwards, Binance was delisted from the app marketplaces in India and the crypto exchange’s website was blocked in the country. 

The company then held talks with various government stakeholders and was even willing to pay taxes and penalties to resume operations in the country. However, reports noted that the Centre was adamant on the company complying with PMLA norms and other laws to re-enter the country. 

In June, the Centre slapped a fine of INR 18 Cr on Binance and ordered it to comply with local norms before resuming operations in India. It is said to have paid the fines and has now gone live in the country again.

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