Representations of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Dash, Ethereum, Ripple and Litecoin are seen in this illustration picture taken June 2, 2021. R

India investigates Binance unit's crypto transactions

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2021-06-11 15:30:04

Representations of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Dash, Ethereum, Ripple and Litecoin are seen in this illustration picture taken June 2, 2021. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo

India’s financial crime-fighting agency said on Friday that WazirX, one of the country's largest cryptocurrency exchanges and its directors, were under investigation for suspected violation of foreign exchange regulations.

The investigation comes at time when the Indian government is mulling whether to introduce a law that could ban cryptocurrencies.

The federal Enforcement Directorate (ED) said that the probe involved transactions worth 27.90 billion rupees ($381.93 million).

The investigation into WazirX - owned since 2019 by Binance, the world's largest digital currency exchange - began when the ED was looking into a money laundering case which involved Chinese owned illegal online betting applications, it said.

During the course of the investigation it was found out that the laundered proceeds of crime worth approximately 570 million rupees had been converted into cryptocurrencies using the Binance platform, the ED said.