Apple has removed multiple crypto apps from its App Store in India as per an order from the Government of India. This includes some big international exchanges such as Binance, KuCoin, Kraken, OKX, and more. These apps were found to violate India’s anti-money laundering laws.
The GoI had previously issued notices to these organisations to adhere to the local laws, which require strict KYC verification of customers engaging on these crypto exchanges. The removal of these apps from the Apple App Store also involves the intervention of the Financial Intelligence Unit of India, highlighting the severity of the situation.
Currently, cryptocurrencies are neither legal nor illegal in India. The Reserve Bank of India has also tried to seek a ban on cryptocurrency. However, given the volume of crypto trading happening in India, the Supreme Court instead levied a 1% TDS on each crypto transaction along with 30% TDS on profits made via crypto trading to prevent the misuse of virtual currency in the country.
Crypto exchanges were also ordered to maintain proper KYC records of each user to operate in India. CoinDCX, CoinSwitch, and WazirX are some notable names that comply with all Indian laws and remain functional in the country legally. However, some decentralised exchanges continue to allow users to trade crypto without strict identifications.
As crypto is a form of digital money, the transfer of these assets without proper verifications can be a huge risk for money laundering. Hence, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of India looked into the matter and asked the relevant bodies of the Indian Government to restrict the services of non-compliant crypto apps in the country.
Apple has quickly responded to the orders by removing such apps from its App Store. These apps are also likely to get pulled from the Google Play Store as well, but that has not happened yet. The websites of these crypto exchanges continue to remain functional too.
The Finance Ministry of India has also issued a statement mentioning that platforms involved in trading crypto, fiat currencies, and other virtual assets must register with FIU-IND and comply with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002.
Violation of these laws and regulations may also lead to a complete ban on an individual platform from the country. At the time of publishing this article, Binance or other affected crypto exchanges have not responded to the situation yet.
