India’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is intensifying its surveillance of cryptocurrency payments on the darknet as part of a broader strategy to combat drug trafficking.
During a Parliamentary session on July 24, Nityanand Rai, Minister of State for Home Affairs, outlined the country’s approach to curbing the import and inter-state movement of narcotics.
Rai presented 13 measures aimed at addressing the escalating issue of drug trafficking and narco-terrorism in India, including two specific initiatives targeting the misuse of cryptocurrencies. He noted that a special task force has been established to monitor suspicious transactions related to drugs on the darknet.
According to the recent data from the NCB, India’s primary drug law enforcement and intelligence agency, reveals that while the use of cryptocurrencies in drug-related crimes has fluctuated over the past five years, incidents involving darknet and cryptocurrency have steadily increased since 2022.
In addition to these measures, the NCB is conducting various training programs on digital forensics, darknet, and cryptocurrency to bolster its efforts.
Notably, as part of their efforts to combat crypto crime, Indian authorities arrested Kunjathbail Mujib Sayyad for operating a Ponzi scheme that defrauded over 50 people of more than $190,000. Sayyad’s scheme, “Max Crypto Trading,”promised exorbitant returns and commissions, eventually absconding with funds after accumulating 16.6 million rupees. He now faces charges under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Furthermore, in January 2024, India’s Financial Intelligence Unit banned Binance and other offshore crypto exchanges for breaching Anti-Money Laundering regulations. The FIU claimed that that Binance, in particular, violated multiple directives aimed at combating the financing of terrorism, and its investigation into the exchange’s activities confirmed these violations. The regulator announced, in June, that it fined the exchange over 88.2 million rupees (approximately 2.25 million USD) for these violations.
However, Binance is reportedly preparing to re-enter the Indian market following its moves to settle the regulator and pay the fines.
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