India's financial regulator, the Federal Enforcement Directorate (ED), has accused WazirX, the country's largest cryptocurrency exchange, of violation of foreign exchange regulations, Reuters reports. The watchdog said that the investigations involves transactions worth ~$382 million.
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The investigation comes as the ED is looking into a money laundering case which involves an unknown Chinese illegal online betting services. The ED also said that the investigation includes Binance as the laundered proceeds of crime worth approximately $7.7 million had been converted into cryptocurrencies through this exchange. As of press time, Binance has not officially commented on the investigation.
"WazirX does not collect the requisite documents in clear violation of the basic mandatory Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Combating of Financing of Terrorism (CFT) precaution norms and FEMA guidelines," the ED added.
However, Nischal Shetty, WazirX's Founder and CEO, says the exchange is going beyond its "legal obligations by following KYC and AML processes and have always provided information to law enforcement authorities whenever required." The watchdog added that other transactions worth ~$311 million rupees were also not recorded on the blockchain platform for investigation.
Binance acquired WizerX back in November 2019. Although the amount of the transaction has not been revealed, sources say it could reach as much as $5-10 million.
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