Alex Omenye
Apple have removed at least nine cryptocurrency exchanges’ applications, including those from Binance and Kraken from the Indian App Store.
This comes less than two weeks after the majority of these international companies were accused of conducting business in the country “illegally.”
Nine cryptocurrency companies received show-cause notifications from the Financial Intelligence Unit, an Indian government body that monitors financial transactions, late last month. The notices claimed that the companies had violated anti-money laundering regulations in India.
The Indian IT Ministry has been requested by the FIU to restrict the websites of all nine Indian services. The applications for Bittrex, Bitfinex, Huobi, Gate.io, and Bittrex have also been removed from exchanges. Bitstamp, an additional problematic exchange that the FIU had identified, remained active on the Indian App Store, but OKX’s flagship app had also off from the platform.
Both the applications and their websites are still available in India, where they are still listed on the Google Play Store. Those who have had the applications loaded on their smartphones are still able to use them.
In an apparent attempt to avoid paying taxes, a large number of Indian dealers have recently shifted to international cryptocurrency platforms. India started taxing virtual currencies last year. Gains are subject to a 30% tax, and each cryptocurrency transaction is subject to a 1% deduction.
India has always viewed cryptocurrencies and the businesses that facilitate their trade with disdain. About five years ago, the Reserve Bank of India banned cryptocurrencies from being used within the nation.
Even while the Indian Supreme Court ultimately overturned this restriction, the central bank has continued to push for the prohibition of cryptocurrencies ever since, and its senior officials have compared virtual digital assets to Ponzi schemes.
