India Tightens Crypto Regulations with Enhanced KYC and AML Measures
India's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has rolled out stringent Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) protocols for cryptocurrency platforms, effective January 8. The MOVE targets illicit activities by mandating live selfie verification with movement detection, government ID submissions, and OTP-based email/mobile validation during onboarding.
Bank account ownership must now be confirmed via penny-drop tests, while platforms are required to log IP addresses, geolocation, and device metadata. High-risk users face biannual KYC reviews, with annual updates for low-risk profiles. Privacy-focused tools like mixers and anonymity-enhanced coins are explicitly banned under the new regime.
Exchanges must maintain transaction records for five years and implement robust suspicious activity monitoring. These measures align with global trends of increasing crypto oversight, potentially affecting trading volumes and operational workflows across both domestic and international platforms servicing Indian users.