Indian Authorities Uncover Wedding Planners Crypto Underground Banking Nexus, Confiscate $2.3 Million

Indian authorities have discovered a nexus of crypto money that was being used in “illegal transactions” in the city of Jaipur. According to local media reports, When Jaipur income tax inspectors raided wedding planners, they discovered Bitcoin transactions, confiscated more than ₹20 crore in cash and jewelry, and froze three cryptocurrency wallets.

Using “hawala networks”, the planners allegedly transferred $2.3 million by converting client cash into cryptocurrencies like USDT and Bitcoin.

The case comes with the backdrop of India facing a rise in illegal activities associated with crypto.

According to reports, officials believe the network goes beyond the city of Jaipur’s boundaries, with ties to a number of important cities in India, like Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai.

A network of resorts, hotel owners, catering companies, and decorating services that allowed clients to pay with cash or through banking channels was also discovered during the raids.

As part of a broader assault on unaccountable transactions in the wedding and events business, the police are now considering carrying out similar operations in other locations.

India Sees Rise in Crypto Money Scams

India at present has been grappling with a rise in crypto scams, hacks, money laundering and illegal money transfer. Alongside India’s cryptocurrency growth, there has been a rise in illicit cryptocurrency-related activity. In an attempt to stop illicit behavior, India’s ED has been closely monitoring the cryptocurrency sector.

The financial ministry has just recently included crypto in its AML laws to curb such incidents.

However, authorities are still alert and vigilant about the crypto diaspora given the rise in illegal activities in the sector.

Just previously, about 17 bitcoin exchanges implicated in a significant tax evasion scam were shut down by the Indian government.

The Indian government had found significant Goods and Services Tax (GST) avoidance by 17 cryptocurrency exchanges, totaling ₹824.14 crore ($97.1 million), according to Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary.

Incidents like these have raised concerns about the legitimacy about the sector, however, the authorities in the nation are trying to curb such illegal activities in order to the nation at par with global giants.

Read Also: Indian Politician’s Phone and Laptop of Hacked, Scammers Make Demands in Cryptocurrency

What is Hawala Transactions?

Hawala is an unofficial way to transfer money without any actual money changing. One description of it is a “money transfer without money movement.”

Nowadays, hawala is utilized as a different remittance method that is not connected to conventional banking institutions. Due to the system’s strong reliance on confidence and the balancing of hawala brokers’ books, transactions between them are conducted without promissory notes.

Read Also: Bitcoin Declared a Capital Asset by India’s Income Tax Appellate Tribunal in Major Ruling