CoinSwitch Kuber CEO claims that the exchange is ‘fully cooperating’ with Indian authorities

Ashish Singhal, co-founder and CEO of Indian crypto exchange platform CoinSwitch Kuber, tweeted on Saturday that his company is working with the country’s Enforcement Directorate and that the rumored searches last week had nothing to do with money laundering. 

Singhal stated that his exchange CoinSwitch is fully cooperating with the regulatory body and that the “Enforcement Directorate – Bengaluru has been engaged with [the company] with respect to [the] functioning of its crypto platforms/ exchanges.”

There are many media reports doing the rounds about the recent engagement of ED Bangalore with @CoinSwitchKuber. So let me clear the air.

• First of all, the last few days’ events are not about money laundering or PMLA.

Here’s what is happening:

— Ashish Singhal (@ashish343) August 27, 2022

Last week, reports from Bloomberg and CoinDesk suggested that the searches had something to do with the nation’s laws governing foreign exchange. For months, Indian authorities have been looking into the ecosystem of the country’s cryptocurrency exchanges.

Serious allegations on CoinSwitch

Notably, CoinSwitch is accused of violating foreign exchange laws by purchasing shares worth more than 20 billion rupees ($250 million). Moreover, the company was also found to be in violation of some know-your-customer (KYC) standards.

Singhal emphasized the still-uncertain state of cryptocurrency regulations in India rather than discussing the specifics of the Enforcement Directorate’s operations.

“Crypto is a new asset class. Being in the early stages, cryptos are not yet clearly classified in most parts of the world. Now, the law (in India and elsewhere) is still assessing if crypto is a ‘commodity’, ‘security’, ‘currency’, or something new. This is a work in progress,” Singhal wrote.

A responsible crypto environment that benefits the Indian economy and generates wealth and jobs for millions of Indians is something that CoinSwitch is dedicated to creating, according to the company.

Last October, as TheCoinRise reported, CoinSwitch received a $260 million Series C funding round with the help of well-known VC firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Tiger Global.

India, with the most number of crypto inventors in the world, is still struggling to adopt a clear set of crypto regulations, primarily due to disagreements between the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India. After implementing a 30% tax on crypto profits, the country is planning to launch a CBDC soon.