CoinSwitch CEO Ashish Singhal took to Twitter on August 27, 2022 to assure the public that his recent engagement with the Enforcement Administration was not related to money laundering.
Singhal stated that the company has publicly discussed its business model and compliance measures and is “cooperating fully” with the Department of Enforcement – Bengaluru. Singhal pointed out the company’s involvement with the watchdog was unrelated to money laundering.
Singhal’s response comes after officials from India’s Directorate General of Law Enforcement raided five CoinSwitch facilities as part of a broader investigation into possible violations of the Data Protection Act regulatory data of Indian stock exchanges.
An anonymous source told Reuters agency that CoinSwitch was for allegedly suspected for breaching the exchange, confirming an earlier report by Be [In] Crypto.
Although Singhal declined to comment on the nature of CoinSwitch’s involvement with law enforcement, citing privacy concerns, he emphasized that India needs a clearer regulatory approach for cryptocurrencies so that companies understand their legal obligations.
Singhal pointed out that India is not alone in its efforts to categorize cryptocurrencies into a specific asset class.
The United States and Australia are grappling with this problem. In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission is adamant that cryptocurrencies are securities and is currently investigating Coinbase for listing unregistered securities.
In Australia, a recently published “token mapping” exercise will help regulators review existing licensing frameworks, organizational structures and asset manager requirements to regulate the crypto space better.
Singhal believes that cryptocurrency can revolutionize the internet and reiterates the company’s commitment to “doing good” for its users. CoinSwitch is backed by venture capitalist Andreessen Horowitz, Tiger Global, and Coinbase Ventures.
ED on the warpath.
The Law Enforcement Branch has been conducting various investigations into crypto companies since June 2021, when it asked WazirX executives to provide an explanation. for deals with Chinese companies totaling more than $350 million.
About a month later, he summoned top crypto executives to check whether their companies were breaking exchange rules.
The ED subsequently froze the bank assets of a director of WazirX operator Zanmai Lab Private, seizing more than $8 million. Before long, the assets of Vauld, another crypto exchange, were frozen as the ED investigated the exchange for allowing 16 predatory fintech firms to deposit funds into wallets controlled by Yellow Tune Technologies. .
