The Financial Intelligence Agency of India (FIU-IND) has reason to believe that Bybit Crypto Exchange violates the Money Laundering Act. In the new development, FIU imposed a fine of rupees. Rs 927 crore on Bybit continues to operate in India without complying with Indian legal guidelines. The Indian government is trying to strictly monitor the country’s crypto ecosystem. The purpose is to curb the exploitation of virtual assets for the benefit of illegal activities such as terrorist financing.
Bybit is headquartered in Dubai and was founded by Ben Zhou in 2018. The crypto company claims to meet the needs of more than 40 million users worldwide.
FIU has been checking Bybit’s operations in India for some time. In recent months, exchange officials have been directed to submit written documents to the FIU as well as verbal explanations and provide detailed descriptions of its operations in the country.
After a thorough review by FIU-IND director Vivek Aggarwal found Bybit responsible for allegations of various violations. According to an official press release, FIU found that the exchange had not received mandatory approval to legalize its business position in India.
“The ongoing and ongoing violations have caused FIU-IND to prevent its (BYBIT) website from stopping operations through the Information Technology Act of 2000 through the Department of Electronics and Communications Technology (MEITY).”
Last year, the exchange integrated India’s Erupee CBDC with its peer-to-peer (P2P) trading service due to multiple requests from Indian merchants. As FIU’s investigation into India’s operations intensified, Bybit announced in early January that it was suspending its services in India.
On January 10, the exchange issued a statement saying: “Due to the latest developments of Indian regulators and the continued restrictions, we regret to inform you that Indian users will not be able to temporarily open new ones from January 12, 2025. New users trade or access any product on the BYBIT platform. The only exception is withdrawal, and for your convenience it will still be available.”
In addition to having trouble in India, the exchange also found itself facing legal action in Malaysia. Last December, the Malaysian Securities Commission (SC) directed Bybit to stop its services because they did not meet local regulatory requirements.
Exchange founder Zhou has not commented on any development. BYBIT has not yet shared any details of any steps taken by the company in the company’s operating rules.
