"Apple removes top crypto exchanges like Binance, Kucoin, OKX from App Store in India"

"Apple removes top crypto exchanges like Binance, Kucoin, OKX from App Store in India"

• By Staff Writer

Apple has removed the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange Binance from its App Store after a show-cause notice was sent to nine such virtual digital asset (VDAs) service providers by the Finance Ministry for not complying with the country's money laundering laws. The company has also removed other apps like Kucoin, and OKX.

The Financial Intelligence Unit, under the Finance Ministry, had last month issued show-cause notices to nine offshore VDA service providers, including Binance, for operating in the country without complying with money laundering laws.

Last month, the Finance Ministry had also asked the IT Ministry to block the URLs of these crypto firms as they have been operating illegally in the country. Binance is already facing investigation in the US after being convicted of breaking anti-money laundering laws.

On the removal of offshore exchanges, Ashish Singhal, Co-founder and Group CEO of PeepalCo said, "The apps of several offshore VDA exchanges have started getting blocked on app stores. It seems that the Financial Intelligence Unit - India (FIU-IND) show cause notice dated 28 December 2023 and their proposed action on offshore VASPs is taking effect."

"By asking offshore exchanges to register with the FIU-IND, the idea is to increase compliance with Indian laws on taxation, Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and KYC norms. This will help create a level playing field between Indian and offshore exchanges, fortify compliance guardrails and also enhance consumer protection," he said.

CoinSwitch and PRO, as well as several other Indian VDA exchanges, are already compliant with India’s PMLA requirements for VASPs, and there is no reason why offshore exchanges shouldn’t do the same, Singhal said.

Apple did not immediately comment on the removal of these crypto exchanges from its App Store. However, these crypto apps will be available on Google's Play Store.