The Union Ministry of Finance on Monday informed the House that as many as seven cases are being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in which "cryptocurrency has been used for money laundering", wherein the agency has also seized assets worth Rs 135 crore.
It was also informed that in 2020, the ED had also arrested one person accused of facilitating companies to launder Proceeds of Crime (PoC) by converting it into cryptocurrency and thereafter transferring it to foreign countries.
In a written reply, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary said, "Reports have been received from Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) in connection with usage of cryptocurrency by cybercriminals. Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is investigating seven cases under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 in which cryptocurrency has been used for Money Laundering."
The MoS informed that the cases investigated by the ED under PMLA have revealed that the accused have laundered Proceeds of Crime (PoC) through cryptocurrency.
Investigations conducted by Enforcement Directorate, so far, revealed that some foreign nationals and their Indian associates have laundered the PoC through cryptocurrency accounts at certain exchange platforms.
"In one such case, an accused has been arrested by the ED in the year 2020 for facilitating the foreign-related accused companies to launder the PoC by converting money generated out of crime into cryptocurrency and thereafter transferring to foreign countries," the MoS informed.
A prosecution complaint has been filed in this case before the Special Court, PMLA.
"So far, ED has attached PoC amounting to Rs. 135 Crore (approximately) under PMLA in the above-mentioned cases," Chaudhary said.
On the question of the government's policy to check misleading advertisements on cryptocurrency, Chaudhary said that the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), to protect the interest of consumer/investors, have been cautioning users, holders and traders of cryptocurrency, from time to time, about the potential economic, financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security related risks associated in dealing with cryptocurrency.
( With inputs from ANI )
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