PANews reported on December 9th that, according to the Business Standard, the Indian Parliament disclosed on Monday that the Indian Enforcement Agency had seized approximately 41.9 billion rupees (about $465 million) in proceeds of crime in a cryptocurrency-related case under anti-money laundering laws, and declared one defendant an economic fugitive. In addition, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) discovered 8.8882 billion rupees (about $100 million) in undeclared income from virtual digital asset (VDA) transactions during searches and seizures. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha (House of Representatives), Pankaj Chaudhary, Minister of State for Finance of India, stated: “The Central Direct Taxation Committee issued notices to 44,057 taxpayers who traded or invested in virtual digital assets but failed to file reports in the VDA supplement to their Income Tax Return (ITR). The Enforcement Department investigated several cryptocurrency-related cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, seizing/confiscating/freezing proceeds of crime worth ₹41.8989 billion, arresting 29 people, and filing 22 indictments. One defendant has been declared an economic fugitive.” He stated that crypto assets/virtual digital assets are unregulated in India, and the government is undertaking capacity-building initiatives to strengthen the monitoring and investigation of transactions related to virtual digital assets.PANews reported on December 9th that, according to the Business Standard, the Indian Parliament disclosed on Monday that the Indian Enforcement Agency had seized approximately 41.9 billion rupees (about $465 million) in proceeds of crime in a cryptocurrency-related case under anti-money laundering laws, and declared one defendant an economic fugitive. In addition, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) discovered 8.8882 billion rupees (about $100 million) in undeclared income from virtual digital asset (VDA) transactions during searches and seizures. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha (House of Representatives), Pankaj Chaudhary, Minister of State for Finance of India, stated: “The Central Direct Taxation Committee issued notices to 44,057 taxpayers who traded or invested in virtual digital assets but failed to file reports in the VDA supplement to their Income Tax Return (ITR). The Enforcement Department investigated several cryptocurrency-related cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, seizing/confiscating/freezing proceeds of crime worth ₹41.8989 billion, arresting 29 people, and filing 22 indictments. One defendant has been declared an economic fugitive.” He stated that crypto assets/virtual digital assets are unregulated in India, and the government is undertaking capacity-building initiatives to strengthen the monitoring and investigation of transactions related to virtual digital assets.

                                                                               Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s Jonathan Gould says crypto companies should have a path to supervision in the banking system, which can evolve to embrace blockchain.                     Crypto companies seeking a US federal bank charter should be treated no differently than other financial institutions, says Jonathan Gould, the head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).Gould told a blockchain conference on Monday that some new charter applicants in the digital or fintech spaces could be seen as offering novel activities for a national trust bank, but noted “custody and safekeeping services have been happening electronically for decades.”“There is simply no justification for considering digital assets differently,” he added. “Additionally, it is important that we do not confine banks, including current national trust banks, to the technologies or businesses of the past.”Read more