India's FIU issues non-compliance notices to 15 offshore crypto platforms over AML violations

Sep 9, 2026

On September 9, 2026, India's Financial Intelligence Unit issues non-compliance notices to 15 offshore cryptocurrency platforms, including Weex and Blofin, for operating without registering under anti-money laundering laws. The regulator also orders internet intermediaries to block access to their apps and websites. This crackdown follows reports of Indian users utilizing overseas stablecoin workarounds to bypass domestic exchanges and avoid regulatory oversight.

FIU-IND offshore platform notices

▪The September 9, 2026 action by India's Financial Intelligence Unit follows previous enforcement rounds against nine major offshore exchanges in December 2023 and 25 offshore exchanges in October 2025.
▪On September 9, 2026, India's Financial Intelligence Unit issued non-compliance notices to 15 offshore cryptocurrency platforms for serving Indian users without registering under the country's anti-money laundering rules.
▪By early 2026, 49 cryptocurrency exchanges had registered with India's Financial Intelligence Unit as reporting entities, consisting of 45 India-based platforms and four offshore platforms.

PMLA Section 13 enforcement

▪The Director of India's Financial Intelligence Unit issued the September 9, 2026 notices under Section 13 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, which targets entities failing to meet anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism duties.
▪During the 2024-25 financial year, India's Financial Intelligence Unit imposed aggregate penalties of approximately ₹28 crore on non-compliant cryptocurrency platforms.
▪Under Section 13 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, reporting entities are obligated to perform user verification, maintain strict records, and report suspicious transactions to the Indian government.

IT Act takedown orders

▪Alongside the compliance notices, the Director of India's Financial Intelligence Unit issued takedown notices under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, to block public access to the 15 platforms' applications and websites.
▪The Ministry of Finance ordered internet intermediaries, including app stores, internet service providers, and hosting companies, to disable public access to the applications and web addresses of the 15 flagged platforms.

Named platform list

▪The list of 15 flagged platforms includes centralized order-book exchanges, instant-swap providers, and on-ramp providers, representing a mix of business models beyond traditional exchanges.
▪The 15 offshore platforms named by India's Financial Intelligence Unit on September 9, 2026, are Weex, Blofin, Rezorex, Bitunix, DigiFinex, Toobit, XT.com, Latoken, WOO X, Pionex, ChangeNow, SimpleSwap, Fixedfloat, WhiteBIT, and Guardarian.

India VDA registration requirements

▪Registration with India's Financial Intelligence Unit is limited to anti-money laundering compliance and does not constitute a product license or approval from the Reserve Bank of India or the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
▪India's Financial Intelligence Unit cautioned the public that cryptocurrency products and non-fungible tokens remain unregulated and highly risky, offering no regulatory recourse for transaction losses.
▪India brought virtual digital asset service providers under its anti-money laundering framework in March 2023, making compliance obligations activity-based and independent of physical presence in India.

Stablecoin gift card workaround

▪The stablecoin-to-gift-card workaround allows Indian users to keep transactions off domestic cryptocurrency exchanges and out of the visibility of Indian financial authorities.
▪The enforcement action follows reports that Indian users are transferring stablecoins like USDT to platforms in Sweden, Germany, and Singapore to convert them into gift cards for daily expenses in India.

Debatable claims

▪India should subject offshore cryptocurrency platforms to domestic anti-money laundering laws
▪India should block internet access to non-compliant offshore cryptocurrency platforms