India Crypto News Today: Bengaluru Firms Face Enforcement Action

India Crypto Raid Hits Bengaluru Firms Over Cross-Border Fund Flow

India's Enforcement Directorate searched six locations in Bengaluru on June 17. The agency froze around Rs 6 crore in assets. This India crypto news update centers on alleged fund transfers exceeding Rs 2,500 crore moved through virtual digital assets.

Source: The New Indian Times

India Crypto News Update Reveals About The Searches 

Officers searched premises tied to five companies. These include Transak, Carretx, Mokshagna Technologies, Buyhatke, and Abhibha.

Each firm ran platforms that let people swap rupees for stablecoins like USDT. The ED says these services worked as on-ramp and off-ramp points between regular money and cryptocurrencies.

That setup lets users move funds across borders without proper paperwork. The agency calls this a clear case of digital money laundering tied to unauthorized forex activity.

How Forex Rules Define Any Crypto Scam

The Reserve Bank of India requires specific approval for cross-border remittances. Companies must also follow purpose codes and submit forex documentation. 

The ED claims these firms skipped that entire process. Some transactions reportedly ran through OTC deals and shell companies based overseas, splitting fund paths to avoid detection.

This is not a sign of missing rules. India already has FEMA and PMLA laws covering exactly this kind of activity. The case shows enforcement of existing law, not a legal gap.

India Crypto Regulation 2026: Rules Geting Stricter As Ban, Why? 

Cryptocurrency trading remains legal in India. People can buy, hold, and sell digital assets after the Supreme Court struck down an earlier RBI banking restriction back in 2020. 

Running a compliant operation now takes real effort, though. Exchanges must register with the Financial Intelligence Unit, follow the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, and meet FEMA requirements for any transaction touching foreign exchange. 

India crypto tax rules add another layer of pressure. Every cryptocurrency profit faces a flat 30% tax, plus 1% TDS on transactions, and traders cannot offset a loss on one coin against a gain on another. 

That rigidity shows up in real cases. A crypto trader from Lucknow received an Rs 88 lakh tax notice despite investing only Rs 9.6 lakh and reporting a Rs 3.3 lakh loss from Bitcoin trading. 

The notice triggered by total transaction volume crossing Rs 80 lakh through repeated swaps and wallet transfers rather than any actual profit. 

The pattern is spreading well beyond one case. Tax officials issued more than 44,000 notices tied to virtual digital assets this season and uncovered Rs 888 crore in income that traders never declared. 

Exchanges already send user-level transaction data straight to the Income Tax Department, which checks it against Schedule VDA filings, so almost every trade leaves a visible trail. 

A quieter question lingers underneath this India crypto news today: does tighter private India crypto regulations are deliberate to push RBI's own digital currency plan, i.e., Digital Rupee.

The EU faces a similar debate, where the Big Whale investigation suspects the ECB shapes Binance's licensing fate to protect its digital euro plans.

Source: Official Page

Digital Rupee Plan: Where It Stands Right Now 

The digital rupee remains in pilot mode through mid-2026. Retail circulation stood at Rs 7.71 billion or 771.6 crore as of March 31, 2026, down from Rs 10.16 billion the year before.

Roughly 7 to 10 million users access it through 17 to 19 participating banks. The RBI has shifted focus toward welfare delivery, running pilots for food subsidy programs in Gujarat, Puducherry, and Chandigarh.

Cross-border testing is underway too, with early talks about linking the digital rupee to other countries' central bank currencies for remittances. The RBI has said there's no rush to replace cash or UPI outright, preferring to expand pilots in phases instead.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making any investment decisions.