After Wazir X India Freezes Vauld Exchange Assets Worth $46.5M

India’s government has frozen $46.5 million in Vauld exchange assets.

Local media in India cited anonymous sources to report that on Thursday, the country’s Enforcement Directorate (ED), the country’s economic crime section, froze assets valued at $46.5 million from the faltering crypto exchanger Vauld.

This new development comes only a few days after the ED restricted over $8 million worth of bank assets belonging to Sameer Mhatre, the director of the cryptocurrency exchange WazirX, in connection with an investigation into money laundering.

Vauld exchange is already experiencing financial difficulties since temporarily freezing all deposits and withdrawals on the platform in July.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is launching an investigation into money laundering against several Indian Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) firms and its fintech partners for engaging in predatory lending practices in contravention of the standards established by the RBI, as well as for using tele-callers who abuse personal data and use abusive language to extort excessive interest rates from loan takers.

The RBI and crypto

In related developments, a recent Bloomberg article reported that the crypto winter caused by the collapse of the Terra may have persuaded the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that its dismissive approach against crypto is warranted.

The Reserve Bank of India has always had an issue with cryptocurrencies, as is abundantly evident.

In 2018, the Reserve Bank of India issued instructions to banks that they were not to serve clients who traded in digital currencies. The Supreme Court’s decision in 2020 that the RBI’s restriction violated the constitution was against the business community.

According to the article from Bloomberg, if the ED gets involved in a few more crypto projects, it may be able to bring about the crypto shutdown that the RBI has been hoping for for a long time.