Indian Regulators Demand PMLA Registration From 25 Offshore Exchanges

India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND) has to 25 offshore cryptocurrency exchanges for failing to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) rules, warning that access will be blocked unless they register under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The exchanges flagged include CoinEx, BingX, PrimeXBT, Huione, Paxful, CEX.IO, BitMex, Bitrue, and CoinCola. According to the Finance Ministry, URLs and mobile apps linked to these platforms could soon be disabled for Indian users.

Officials stressed that compliance obligations under PMLA are activity-based, meaning offshore platforms must register if they serve Indian customers, regardless of whether they have a local office.

The Ministry clarified that Virtual Digital Asset Service Providers (VDA SPs) must register with FIU-IND to operate legally. Registration requires reporting suspicious activity, maintaining transaction records, and sharing data when requested.

So far, around 50 VDA SPs have successfully registered with the FIU-IND. However, the recent notices mark a second wave of enforcement, following a similar action nearly two years ago against nine major offshore exchanges, including Binance, KuCoin, OKX, and Bybit. The government’s sustained focus reflects its commitment to ensuring digital financial activities operate within a regulated framework.

While India continues to explore formal cryptocurrency regulations through a discussion paper, authorities remain cautious about the potential risks of unregulated digital assets. The Finance Ministry highlighted that crypto products and NFTs carry high risk, with no regulatory protections for investors in case of losses. Hence, compliance with AML regulations is not only a legal requirement but a safeguard for market integrity.