Earlier today, the Enforcement Directorate issued a press release that said the government agency has issued a show cause notice to Nishcal Shetty and Sameer Mhatre for cryptocurrency transactions worth Rs 2,790.7 crore that violated FEMA rules.
“WazirX is yet to receive any show cause notice from the Enforcement Directorate as mentioned in today’s media reports. WazirX is in compliance with all applicable laws,” the exchange’s founder and chief executive officer Nischal Shetty said in a series of tweets on microblogging site Twitter.
During the course of the investigation, it was seen that the accused Chinese nationals had laundered proceeds of crime worth Rs 57 crore approximately by converting INR deposits into cryptocurrency tether (USDT) and then transferring the same to Binance (exchange registered in Cayman Islands) wallets based on instructions received from abroad, the ED said in its release.
“WazirX does not collect the requisite documents in clear violation of the basic mandatory anti-money laundering and combating of financing of terrorism precaution norms and FEMA guidelines,” the government agency alleged in its release.
WazirX said that it goes beyond legal obligations by following Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti Money Laundering (AML) processes and has always provided information to law enforcement authorities whenever required.
“We are able to trace all users on our platform with official identity information. Should we receive a formal communication or notice from the ED, we’ll fully cooperate in the investigation,” Shetty said.
