India Regulates Crypto Transactions For Money Laundering
Operators must preserve transaction data for 10 years and provide it to authorities upon request.
Although establishing anti-money laundering (AML) rules on crypto is nothing new, the Indian government has only just chosen to inform all interested parties of the national AML statute.
The Ministry of Finance’s March 7 announcement in The Gazette of India subjected crypto trading, transfers, custody, and administration to the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act (PLMA) 2002. The PMLA covers financial services for issuers selling virtual assets.
The announcement doesn’t disclose many information, but the PML Act requires financial institutions to keep a record of all transactions for ten years, submit these data to authorities if requested, and verify customer identities.
All crypto businesses in the country would come under ambit of PMLA
This is a good step towards regulating the crypto industry in India
This also ensures all crypto businesses must perform necessary KYC, transaction monitoring etc as part of their process.
— Nischal (Shardeum) ? (@NischalShetty) March 8, 2023
The announcement comes at a time when global authorities are strengthening crypto AML rules, complicating the lives of Indian crypto firms. Recent years have been uncomfortable. Digital assets are taxed 30% starting in March 2022.
The new tax policy reduced trading volume on major cryptocurrency exchanges in India by 70% in 10 days and roughly 90% in three months. Crypto traders and startups fled India because to the tax regime.
In February 2023, the Indian women’s cricket league banned crypto advertising and sponsorships. This followed the 2022 men’s cricket Premier League suspension.
When commemorating India’s first G20 presidency in 2023, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman called for crypto regulation. For developing and comprehending the macro-financial implications, she suggested a worldwide crypto regulatory reform initiative.
