FIU-IND Issues PMLA Notices to 15 Crypto Platforms and Seeks App, URL Takedowns

The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) has issued non-compliance notices to 15 Virtual Digital Asset Service Providers under section 13 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 and has also initiated action for takedown of their applications or URLs from public access in India. The Ministry of Finance announced the action through a Press Information Bureau release dated September 9, 2026.

The enforcement step is relevant to accountants, compliance officers, fintech teams, VDA businesses and professionals advising entities with crypto-related payment or custody activity because FIU-IND has again emphasised that India's anti-money-laundering obligations apply on the basis of the activity carried on in India, not merely on whether the service provider has a physical establishment in the country.

Which VDA service providers received notices

The government release identifies the following trade names and entities:

- Weex — Weex International Exchange LTD

- Blofin — BLF Global Limited

- Rezorex — RezorEx

- Bitunix — Bitunix LLC

- DigiFinex — DigiFinex Ltd

- Toobit — Hopeful Technology Co. Ltd.

- XT.com — Fibtc Ltd / XT TECHNICAL PTE. LTD.

- Latoken — LAtrade Ltd

- WOO X — Wootech Limited

- Pionex — Marketa Trading Inc.

- ChangeNow — CHN Group LLC

- SimpleSwap — SimpleSwap LTD

- Fixedfloat — FFGX Group LLC

- WhiteBIT — UAB Clear White Technologies

- Guardarian — FinSeven CZ

FIU-IND's Director issued the section 13 notices as part of compliance action against entities described by the government as non-compliant VDA service providers.

Takedown action goes beyond the PMLA notices

The release says the FIU-IND Director, acting as nodal officer under section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 read with rule 3(1)(d) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2025, has also issued notices for the applications or URLs of these entities to be taken down from public access. The government says the services were found to be operating illegally without complying with the relevant PMLA provisions in India.

For regulated businesses and advisers, that combination is important. A VDA platform can face not only a compliance notice under the anti-money-laundering law but also a digital-access consequence when it continues serving the Indian market without meeting the applicable framework.

Why offshore status does not remove the FIU obligation

VDA service providers were brought within India's AML and counter-financing-of-terrorism framework under the PMLA in March 2023. The government has reiterated that a provider operating in India, whether offshore or onshore, must register with FIU-IND as a Reporting Entity when it conducts covered activities.

The release specifically refers to activities such as exchange between virtual digital assets and fiat currencies, transfer of virtual digital assets, safekeeping or administration of virtual digital assets, and services involving instruments that enable control over virtual digital assets. The obligations include registration as well as reporting, record-keeping and other requirements prescribed by the PMLA and its rules.

FIU-IND has stated that these requirements are activity-based and are not contingent on physical presence in India. For cross-border platforms, this means a compliance assessment cannot stop at the location of incorporation, servers or management. The relevant question is whether the platform is carrying on covered VDA activity in relation to the Indian market.

What compliance and finance teams should review

Businesses that deal with VDA platforms should verify the regulatory status of counterparties used for treasury, settlement, custody or customer-facing arrangements. Where a group company or overseas affiliate provides access to a VDA service in India, legal and compliance teams should map which entity is actually carrying on the covered activity and whether the appropriate FIU registration and PMLA controls are in place.

Internal AML programmes should also be reviewed for reporting workflows, retention of transaction and customer records, escalation of unusual activity and governance over cross-border platform access. The new action is a reminder that relying on an offshore corporate structure does not by itself take a VDA provider outside India's PMLA framework.

Government repeats risk warning for crypto products and NFTs

The Ministry of Finance release also repeats a public caution that crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky, and that there may be no regulatory recourse for losses from such transactions. That warning should be read separately from the FIU registration regime: AML registration or reporting obligations do not amount to an investment-safety endorsement of a product or platform.

The practical takeaway for CAs and finance professionals is to separate three questions: whether a VDA activity falls within the PMLA reporting-entity framework, whether the provider is complying with FIU-IND requirements, and whether the underlying product carries investment or counterparty risk. The September 9 action shows that the first two questions can now lead directly to both enforcement notices and access restrictions.

The full list and the government's compliance position are available in the official Ministry of Finance release.

Official source: View the official source document

Key takeaway

FIU-IND has issued Section 13 PMLA non-compliance notices to 15 VDA service providers and initiated takedown action, reiterating that offshore providers serving India must meet activity-based AML obligations.