India's Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out search operations at four locations in Bengaluru and Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday as part of an investigation into unauthorized cross-border remittances involving cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. Officials said the probe involves transactions worth more than $40 million.
The searches, conducted under Section 37 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) of 1999, targeted three premises in Bengaluru and one in Madhya Pradesh. The raids focused on entities and platforms including "Mudrex," "Saber.money," "Fluid," and "Instadapp." The investigation was launched following complaints concerning significant violations of FEMA regulations by RPFAS Technologies Private Limited, the Bengaluru-based company behind the Mudrex and Saber.money platforms.
Preliminary findings indicate that these entities facilitated unauthorized money transfers and held crypto assets on foreign platforms valued at over Rs 46 billion (approximately $40 million). The ED flagged the failure of these entities to comply with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines governing inward and outward remittances via Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs).
According to the agency, many of these companies circumvented official channels by registering related entities in foreign jurisdictions while maintaining operational control from within India. This structure allegedly enabled the transfer of funds without adherence to regulatory requirements.
The probe also extended to Instadapp, a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol operating on the Ethereum blockchain. Instadapp’s smart contract technology facilitates activities such as lending, borrowing, and token swapping within the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
The ED’s actions underscore increasing regulatory scrutiny of cross-border cryptocurrency transactions in India amid concerns over money laundering, unauthorized remittances, and foreign exchange violations. The investigation remains ongoing, with authorities seeking further details on the scale and nature of digital asset transfers conducted without required approvals.
