New Delhi, 8 Dec – In a briefing to Parliament, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) outlined its recent crackdown on cryptocurrency‑related offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). It said the agency has attached, seized and frozen criminal proceeds amounting to ₹4,189.89 crore, arrested 29 individuals, file 22 prosecution complaints, and has now labelled one defendant a “Fugitive Economic Offender.”
The government has also extended the scope of the 2002 PMLA to cover virtual digital assets (VDAs). This means that virtual asset service providers (VASPs) are now regarded as reporting entities and must submit both specified and suspicious transaction reports to the FIU‑IND. These reports are examined and forwarded to law‑enforcement bodies for further action, explained Union Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, to the Lok Sabha.
“One accused has been declared a Fugitive Economic Offender. The Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988, and the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, apply to all assets, including VDAs,” the minister added.
In addition, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has repeatedly flagged tax‑evasion cases linked to cryptocurrency and VDAs. When such cases surface, the Income Tax Department pursues them under the Income Tax Act, 1961.
During recent search and seizure operations, officials uncovered ₹888.82 crore of undisclosed income from VDA transactions. Under the CBDT’s NUDGE (Non‑Intrusive Usage of Data to Guide and Enable) initiative, 44,057 messages have been dispatched to taxpayers who traded or invested in VDAs but failed to report these dealings in the VDA schedule of their income‑tax returns (ITRs), Chaudhary said.
The authorities harness data‑analytics platforms, internal databases, and a project called Insight to cross‑check VDA transaction details against the disclosures made in ITRs. TDS filings by VASPs alongside taxpayer ITRs are also scrutinised for inconsistencies, enabling targeted enforcement actions.
The government is also rolling out capacity‑building measures to reinforce monitoring and investigative capacities around VDA‑related activity. “We conduct regular training courses, workshops, ‘Chintan Shivirs,’ and sessions on digital forensics, blockchain analysis, legal frameworks, and digital evidence,” the minister noted. “Our officers receive specialised short‑term training in digital forensics at NFSU, Goa, which equips them to identify and trace VDA‑linked transactions from captured data.”
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