India’s financial crime fighting agency has allowed WazirX to resume banking operations after unfreezing its bank accounts, the crypto exchange said on Monday.
See related stories: India’s WazirX says it has no-tolerance policy on illegal activities
Fast facts
- WazirX, one of India’s largest crypto exchanges by trading volume, said in a statement that its active cooperation in the Enforcement Directorate’s ongoing money laundering investigation led to the agency clearing its funds.
- The agency froze WazirX’s US$8.1 million account after exchange director Sameer Mahtre’s properties were raided last month to investigate his alleged involvement in assisting some 16 fintech firms in laundering crime proceeds through crypto channels.
- The investigation is part of the rise of so-called Chinese “illegal loan apps” scams, which has triggered the Indian government to crackdown on such applications and its Chinese shell companies.
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has tasked the Reserve Bank of India, the nation’s central bank, with generating a “whitelist” of all permitted apps.
See related stories: Business as usual at India’s WazirX as Binance distances itself