Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Choudhary told in a written reply in Lok Sabha that the Central GST units have detected 11 cases of non-payment of GST by cryptocurrency exchanges. Of these, GST of Rs 81.54 crore was evaded. 95.86 crore (including penalty and interest) has been recovered from these exchanges. Rs 49.18 crore has been recovered from Zanmai Labs (WAZIRX), Rs 17.1 crore from Coin DCX and Rs 16.07 crore from CoinSwitch Kuber. Other exchanges involved in the case are Zeb IT Services, Secure Bitcoin Traders, Giottus Technologies, Awlencan Innovations (Zebpay) and Discidium Internet Labs, the finance ministry said.
Cases of money laundering through cryptocurrencies are also increasing. Recently, the government said that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is probing seven cases in which cryptocurrencies have been used for money laundering. Of these, about Rs 135 crore of crime proceeds have been seized so far. Law enforcement agencies have reported about cybercriminals using cryptocurrencies.
ED’s probe into the cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) revealed that the accused had spent the proceeds of crime through virtual currency. The ED is probing seven cases in which cryptocurrencies have been used for money laundering. The investigation revealed that some foreign nationals and their Indian associates had remitted the crime proceeds abroad through cryptocurrency accounts in exchanges. In one of these cases, the ED had arrested an accused two years ago. The man had helped the accused foreign firms to convert the proceeds of crime into cryptocurrencies and transfer them abroad. A complaint has also been filed by the prosecution in this regard in the PMLA Special Court.
(This news has not been edited by NDTV team. It has been published directly from Syndicate feed.)
For the latest tech news, smartphone reviews and exclusive offers on popular mobiles, download the Gadgets 360 Android app and follow us on Google News.
Related news
,