Indian authorities freeze Vauld assets worth $46 million

The Enforcement Directorate of the Indian Ministry of Finance blocked the crypto-lending platform Vauld’s access to assets valued at 370 crore rupees (~$46 million). This was reported by India Today.

The agency did not provide official comments. Vauld representatives told CoinDesk that they were reviewing the matter.

On July 4, the company announced a suspension of operations and possible restructuring due to financial difficulties. The following day it emerged that competitor Nexo had signed a preliminary agreement to acquire Vauld.

Later, citing court documents, reports indicated that Vauld’s outstanding debt after these events amounted to $402 million, of which $363 million was owed to retail investors.

According to Economic Times, the regulator is investigating ten crypto platforms for allegedly helping foreign firms launder money using cryptocurrency.

Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate of the Indian Ministry of Finance suspected WazirX in laundering $350 million. Media reports say the agency froze the exchange’s assets worth $8.16 million in the course of the case.

WazirX faced claims from the regulator as early as 2021 — the exchange was suspected of violating foreign exchange rules.

In the same year, one of Binance’s units came under the Indian anti-money-laundering agency’s scrutiny — the unit was investigated.

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