India's third largest private sector bank Kotak Bank has reportedly partnered with the local cryptocurrency exchange WazirX, The Economic Times reports. According to sources familiar with the deal, the Mumbai-based cryptocurrency exchange has opened an account with Kotak "which can be used to receive and pay money to investors trading on the exchange." However, the service is yet to launch as the bank is testing KYC procedures.
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Prior to Kotak, WazirX had a banking account at ICICI Bank. Later, the exchange moved to MobiKwik, a payment services company, after ICICI told payment gateway operators to deactivate merchants who were involved cryptocurrency-related activity.
In June this year, India's financial regulator, the Federal Enforcement Directorate (ED), accused WazirX of violation of foreign exchange regulations. The watchdog claimed that the investigations involved transactions worth ~$382 million.
The ED also said that the investigation included Binance as the laundered proceeds of crime worth approximately $7.7 million were converted into cryptocurrencies through this exchange. 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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