The assets of WazirX, owned by the world's largest digital currency exchange Binance, have been frozen as part of its investigation into suspected violations of foreign exchange regulations, according to MUMBAI India's financial crime-fighting agency.
The federal Enforcement Directorate ED froze assets worth 646.70 million rupees $8.16 million WazirX did not respond to a request for comment.
The agency said it was involved in an investigation into the exchange's suspected role in assisting instant loan app companies in laundering the proceeds of crime by converting it into cryptocurrencies on its platform.
The ED launched its investigation last year into WazirX, which has been owned by Binance since 2019 for suspected violations of foreign exchange regulations.
In 2021 ED was looking into a money laundering case involving Chinese-owned illegal online betting applications. The ED had said that the laundered proceeds of crime worth approximately 570 million rupees had been converted into cryptocurrencies using the Binance platform.