ED raids Bengaluru firms over alleged ₹2,500 crore crypto remittance network
The Enforcement Directorate named five Bengaluru-linked crypto payment platforms, froze about ₹6 crore and said the firms used USDT-based flows to move money across borders outside FEMA reporting rules.
India’s Enforcement Directorate has expanded details of its investigation into an alleged ₹2,500 crore illegal cross-border money transfer network, saying five Bengaluru-linked crypto payment platforms used fiat on-ramp and off-ramp services to route funds outside formal remittance channels. The agency said it searched six premises under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, named Transak Technology India, Carretx Technologies, Mokshagna Technologies, Buyhatke Internet and Abhibha Technologies, and froze about ₹6 crore in bank accounts tied to the suspected flows. Investigators said customers deposited rupees, bought virtual digital assets mainly in USDT, then sent the tokens through crypto platforms for over-the-counter sale and cash payout abroad or in India, allegedly without purpose codes, Foreign Inward Remittance Certificates or other required documentation. The case adds to India’s broader push to police crypto-linked payment rails as the country still lacks a dedicated licensing regime for exchanges and related banking connectors, despite taxing crypto gains and bringing virtual asset service providers under anti-money-laundering rules in 2023.
- fiat on-ramp and off-ramp services: Services that let users convert traditional money into crypto and convert crypto back into traditional money.
- USDT: A dollar-pegged stablecoin commonly used to move value across crypto markets.
- Foreign Inward Remittance Certificates: Documents used to record and verify money received from abroad through formal channels.