ED searches 5 premises 0f Coinswitch Kuber for alleged money laundering: Report

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) probed 5 premises of Coinswitch Kuber in a case pertaining to alleged flouting of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) norms by the crypto exchange.

Coindesk reported, quoting an ED official, that five premises tied to the CoinSwitch Kuber were searched, including the residences of directors, the CEO, and the official properties.

"We are looking into multiple possible contraventions under FEMA and other entities that are connected to it," the official said, as quoted by Coindesk. "Since we did not receive the desired cooperation we have conducted searches on (residences) of directors, the CEO and the official premises" of the exchange.

As reports of raids emerged, a Coinswitch spokesperson told IANS, “Our approach has always been that of transparency. Crypto is an early stage industry with a lot of potential and we continuously engage with all stakeholders.”

The ED is looking into "multiple possible contraventions under FEMA and other entities that are connected to CoinSwitch," as per the report.

Also Read | 10 crypto exchanges with China link under ED lens for alleged laundering over Rs 1,000 crore: Report

The move is part of a larger crackdown by the ED on major cryptocurrency exchanges. Earlier, reports had emerged that the agency was probing more than 10 crypto exchanges for allegedly laundering money to the tune of INR 1,000 Cr.

This comes after the ED froze assets of India’s largest crypto exchange, WazirX. The financial law enforcement agency has asked other exchanges to join the probe as well, after similar instances of loan apps approaching crypto exchanges for similar transactions were revealed.