The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of India has taken formal regulatory action against 15 offshore cryptocurrency exchanges, citing significant lapses in anti-money laundering (AML) protocols. According to the FIU, these platforms have been operating in India without adhering to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which requires virtual digital asset service providers to register with the agency and maintain rigorous reporting standards.

As a result of these findings, the FIU has formally requested that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology block the web addresses of these 15 entities. The move is part of a broader effort by the Indian government to bring offshore crypto service providers under the same regulatory oversight as domestic firms. While the specific names of the 15 platforms have not been fully disclosed in initial reports, the action signals a hardening stance against exchanges that facilitate Indian users without local registration. The FIU maintains that these platforms have failed to comply with the mandatory reporting requirements necessary to prevent illicit financial flows, including tax evasion and money laundering. This development represents a significant escalation in India's regulatory approach to the digital asset sector, moving from passive observation to active enforcement against non-compliant international service providers.