ED Freezes ₹4,190 Crore in Crypto Investigation, Declares Fugitive Monetary Offender

The Enforcement Directorate has linked proceeds of crime worth ₹4,189.89 crore in crypto-related circumstances beneath the anti-money laundering regulation and declared one accused as a Fugitive Monetary Offender (FEOs), Parliament was educated on Monday (December 8, 2025).

Furthermore, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has moreover detected undisclosed income of ₹888.82 crore from digital digital property (VDA) transactions all through search and seizure operations.

The CBDT has despatched 44,057 communications to taxpayers who invested or traded in VDAs nonetheless did not report these in Schedule VDA of their Income Tax Returns (ITRs), Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply to a question throughout the Lok Sabha.

The federal authorities has moreover launched VDAs beneath the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA).

“The Enforcement Directorate has investigated plenty of crypto-related circumstances beneath PMLA, attaching/seizing/freezing proceeds of crime worth ₹4,189.89 crore, arresting 29 people, and submitting 22 prosecution complaints. One accused has been declared a Fugitive Monetary Offender,” Mr. Chaudhary said.

He said crypto-assets and Digital Digital Belongings are unregulated in India, and the federal authorities is endeavor capacity-building initiatives to strengthen monitoring and investigation of VDA-related transactions.

As crypto property are inherently borderless, they require sturdy worldwide coordination to forestall regulatory arbitrage.

“Subsequently, any regulatory framework for crypto property shall be environment friendly solely with essential worldwide collaboration on the evaluation of the risks and benefits and the evaluation of widespread taxonomy and necessities,” Mr. Chaudhary said.