India’s anti-money-laundering agency is examining Binance Holdings’ role in a case involving online-betting apps, Bloomberg reports, citing its own sources.
According to the publication, the Enforcement Directorate summoned the management of the holding for questioning. Authorities are examining the activities of the apps run by Chinese operators, which have raised more than 10 billion rupees ($134 million) over the last 10 months.
The authorities suspect that part of the funds was laundered through Binance’s cryptocurrency exchange WazirX.
A Binance spokesperson said the company had not received any summons.
“We have always actively fought crime. We respond to regulatory requests worldwide and do not comment on any specific obligations,” the Binance press office told Bloomberg.
According to authorities, operators of the betting apps used accounts on WazirX to buy, convert and transfer funds to wallets on the Binance platform.
However, for most transactions, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange did not comply with Know Your Customer KYC and the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force FATF.
According to sources, the regulator sent WazirX a notice of alleged violations of rules governing cryptocurrency transactions worth 27.9 billion rupees.
Amid rising global regulatory scrutiny of Binance, in June the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority banned Binance Markets Limited from any regulated activity in the country without prior written approval.
Cayman Islands have begun reviewing Binance’s operations; Thailand and Hong Kong have accused the company of unlicensed activity; Japan has issued another warning.
Polish authorities warned consumers about the risks of dealing with the platform, and Italy and Malta warned about Binance’s unregulated activity. Malaysia’s Securities Commission (SC) announced enforcement actions against the company.