NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 4,189.89 crore in crypto-linked money laundering cases and has declared one accused a fugitive economic offender, Parliament was informed on Monday.
In addition, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has identified undisclosed income of Rs 888.82 crore from transactions in virtual digital assets (VDAs) during search and seizure operations. The CBDT has sent 44,057 communications to taxpayers who invested or traded in VDAs but did not report these in Schedule VDA of their Income Tax Returns (ITRs), Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
The government has also brought VDAs under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
"The Enforcement Directorate has investigated several crypto-related cases under PMLA, attaching/seizing/freezing proceeds of crime worth Rs 4,189.89 crore, arresting 29 persons, and filing 22 prosecution complaints. One accused has been declared a Fugitive Economic Offender," Chaudhary said.
He added that crypto-assets/Virtual Digital Assets are unregulated in India, and the government is undertaking capacity-building initiatives to strengthen monitoring and investigation of VDA-related transactions.
As crypto assets are inherently borderless, they require strong international coordination to prevent regulatory arbitrage.
"Therefore, any regulatory framework for crypto assets can be effective only with significant international collaboration on the evaluation of the risks and benefits and the evaluation of common taxonomy and standards," Chaudhary said.