FIU-IND Fines Bybit Rs 9.27 Crore for PMLA Violations

New Delhi, Jan 31 (PTI) The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) on Friday imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 9.27 crore on virtual digital asset service provider Bybit Fintech Limited for violations of its obligations under the PMLA.

The company violated the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005 and advisories issued by the Director FIU-IND, a finance ministry statement said.

As a Virtual Digital Asset Service Provider (VDA SP), Bybit is classified as a 'reporting entity' under PMLA and the company kept expanding its services in the Indian market without securing mandatory registration with the FIU-IND, it said.

The persistent and continuous non-compliance caused FIU-IND to block their websites to stop operations under the Information Technology Act, 2000 through the Ministry of Electronics and Communication Technology (MEITY), it said.

After conducting a thorough examination of both written and oral submissions from Bybit, FIU-IND Director Vivek Aggarwal found Bybit liable for the charges for various violations.

In an order dated January 31, and exercising authority under Section 13 of the PMLA, it was unequivocally established that Bybit was in violation of PMLA rules.

It is noteworthy that FIU-IND had previously issued comprehensive Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) Guidelines for Reporting Entities offering Services related to Virtual Digital Assets on March 10, 2023, it said.