India Restores Binance Access After Exchange Cleared $2.25 Million Fine for PMLA Violations

Binance users in India can now access the exchange’s website after being blocked in December 2023. The crypto exchange, touted as the largest in the world, has finally completed its registration with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and has also cleared the penalty of $2.25 million (roughly Rs. 18.8 crore) that was levied on it in June this year. The fine was levied as Binance did not adhere to India’s Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). With this, Binance is now up and running in India’s web space.

For Binance, this registration in India marks its 19th global licence. Sweden, Kazakhstan, France, and Dubai are among other locations where the exchange holds operational permits.

Binance CEO Richard Teng said that the company realises the vitality and potential of India’s virtual digital assets (VDAs) market, commenting on its India registration.

“Our registration with the FIU-IND marks an important milestone in Binance’s journey. This alignment with Indian regulations allows us to tailor our services for Indian users. It is a privilege to extend the reach of our platform to this thriving market, supporting India’s continued VDA evolution,” Teng noted.

Binance’s registration with the FIU in India could have been completed in May. However, upon probe on the exchange, Indian authorities identified that Binance was not compliant with the PMLA laws, that are mandated for crypto firms to comply with in order to keep their operations running in the country.

As part of the PMLA laws, crypto exchanges are required to have their users complete their KYCs and monitor trading activities. Upon identifying suspicious transactions, the PMLA requires exchanges to report their observations to the relevant authorities.

Now that Binance has cleared the fine for being non-compliant with India’s PMLA laws, its access has been completely restored for Indian users.

“Implementing these industry-leading frameworks in the Indian market can meaningfully contribute to the local context and elevate market standards for all crypto exchanges. Not only is this beneficial for the Indian VDA industry, but, most importantly, it ensures stronger protections for users,” the exchange noted.

Despite this development, Binance’s road ahead still has some bumps in India. The company, for instance, does not still have a physical presence in the country. In fact, Binance is scouting for locations where it could set up its headquarters.

In addition, Binance was recently served a notice for Rs. 772 crore (roughly $92 million) in GST charges. The Ahmedabad zonal unit of India’s Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) issued this notice to the multi-national crypto exchange for levying a platform fee charge on Indian traders that reportedly reached the amount of at least Rs. 4,000 crore and was transferred to a foreign-based company.

Binance’s response to this GST notice remains awaited.