Prevent Money Laundering, Google And Apple Compact Block Crypto Applications In India
JAKARTA Two technology giants, Apple and Google suddenly became the center of attention of the Indian crypto community. This is because the two US companies, through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store apps, block a number of crypto trading apps in India.
This blocking is claimed to be a response to law enforcement promoted by the Indian Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU IND) against foreign crypto companies that do not comply with anti-money laundering laws.
Earlier, on Saturday 13 January 2024, Google suddenly removed popular crypto exchange apps such as Binance and Kraken from the Google Play Store in India. While Apple has withdrawn similar apps from the App Store a few days earlier.
Not only that, various telecommunications networks and internet service providers in India have also blocked crypto exchange websites affected by this policy.
In December last year, FIU IND issued "compliance show causes notices" to nine foreign crypto companies. The Indian government explained that all crypto service providers operating in the country are required to register with FIU IND as reporting entities and comply with the rules set by the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002. Until then, it was noted that 31 crypto service providers had registered with FIU IND.
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Reported by Coingape, the nine crypto companies that received notifications from FIU IND were Binance, Kucoin, Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, and Bitfinex.
Binance Customer Support also commented on Apple's removal of their app, before Google implemented the same policy. Binance claims that despite blocking the two app stores, user funds are still safe.
"We are aware of the IP blocking that affects a number of crypto companies, including Binance. It only affects users who try to access Indian iOS app stores or Binance websites from India. Users who already have the Binance app are not affected. The ongoing situation is not unique to Binance and affects other web3 industry players as well. We are working hard to provide information to policymakers who are constructive and beneficial to every user and all market participants. All user funds are safe," Binance Customer Support noted.