The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken action against several Bengaluru companies in the alleged illegal international money transfer case through cryptocurrency. ED's Bengaluru zonal team searched 6 locations under FEMA law. During the investigation, ED investigated the locations associated with companies like Transak, Carret, Xpat (Remit2any), Onramp.money and Onmeta. It is alleged that these companies were facilitating money transactions in the country and abroad through cryptocurrency (Virtual Digital Assets) without the permission of RBI.
Ed According to , some companies are using online platforms to provide people the facility to buy crypto with rupees and then by selling it, those companies are sending the money to other countries.
The investigation revealed that in many cases, official banking channels were bypassed by using foreign institutions and crypto platforms.
The agency claims that these companies have made unauthorized cross border transactions worth more than Rs 2500 crore. During the search, some bank accounts have been frozen, in which an amount of around Rs 6 crore is said to be.
ED said that in some cases the investigation has revealed money transactions through foreign accounts, crypto trading platforms and OTC deals. According to officials, further investigation in the matter is going on.
The ED said in a statement that the agency initiated the investigation under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and the searches based on allegations of unauthorized cross-border money transfers by several entities using Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs) or cryptocurrencies.
The agency said a careful investigation found that some unlicensed payment system operators circumvented FEMA rules on a “large scale” to transfer foreign money using crypto.
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