Kevin Helms
A student of Austrian economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects and the intersection of economics and cryptography.
Indian Government Answers Questions About Crypto Legalization, Fraud Prevention – Regulation Bitcoin News
The Indian government has responded to parliamentary questions on cryptocurrency legalization and the measures it has taken to prevent crypto-related fraud. “Crypto-assets are currently unregulated in India. Crypto-related fraud is dealt with under existing anti-fraud and cybercrime laws,” the Finance Minister told Parliament.
Indian Finance Ministry for Legalization of Crypto
The Indian government answered two sets of crypto-related questions in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament, on Monday.
The first set asks the finance minister “if the government plans to legalize cryptocurrency in the country” and what “impact cryptocurrency will have on common people and especially youth.”
Shri Pankaj Chaudhary, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, reiterated his earlier reply to Parliament. “Crypto-assets are currently unregulated in India. Crypto-assets are by definition borderless and require international cooperation to prevent regulatory arbitrage,” he said, elaborating:
Any legislation for regulation or for prohibition can be effective only with significant international cooperation on the evaluation of risks and benefits and the development of common taxonomy and standards.
The minister also stated that India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), “has warned users, holders and traders of virtual currencies (VCs) that trading in VCs is associated with potential economic, financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security-related risks.”
While the Indian government is still working on a cryptocurrency bill, crypto income is already taxed at 30% in India and 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) is levied on crypto transactions. Last month, the government brought crypto transactions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).
Crypto Fraud Prevention
The finance minister was asked in the Lok Sabha whether crypto-related scams have increased in recent years, what steps the government has taken to prevent such scams, and whether all crypto exchanges operating in the country are compliant with international financial regulations.
“Crypto assets are currently unregulated in India. Fraud related to crypto is dealt with under existing anti-fraud and cybercrime laws,” Minister Chaudhary replied, noting that states and Union Territories (UTs) are responsible for investigating and prosecuting such crimes .He further explained that India’s Ministry of Home Affairs has launched a portal for reporting crypto-related scams to the Cyber & Information Security Division.
“The Directorate of Enforcement [ED] is investigating several cases under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) and the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA), related to crypto-assets,” he further said, adding:
As on date, proceeds of crime amount to Rs. NOK 953.70 million [$116.40 million] have been attached/seized/frozen, 5 persons have been arrested and 6 charge sheets (PCs) including 1 additional PC have been filed before the Special Court, PMLA in these cases.
“Further, under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) assets amounting to Rs. 289.28 crores have been seized under Section 37A of FEMA and 1 Show Cause Notice to crypto asset exchange Zanmai Labs Private Limited known as Wazirx and its directors under FEMA for transactions involving crypto-assets worth Rs.2,790.74 crores has also been issued,” the minister noted.
Do you think the Indian government will regulate crypto soon? Let us know in the comments section below.
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