Key Highlights
- Bharat Web3 Association (BWA) organized a closed-door workshop with FIU-IND to operationalize updated AML/CFT rules for VDA service providers.
- Discussions focused on transaction monitoring, governance roles, risk frameworks, and compliance implementation challenges.
- The session reflects growing regulator–industry collaboration as India strengthens crypto compliance infrastructure.
India’s crypto compliance infrastructure took another step forward on March 18, as the Bharat Web3 Association (BWA) hosted a closed-door workshop in New Delhi on operationalizing the updated Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) guidelines for Virtual Digital Asset Service Providers (VDA SPs).
The event brought together officials from the Financial Intelligence Unit–India (FIU-IND) and representatives of crypto exchanges and virtual digital assets (VDA) service providers that are registered as reporting entities under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
FIU-IND Director calls for stronger compliance frameworks
Amit Mohan Govil, Director of FIU-IND, delivered the chief guest address at the workshop. He emphasized the importance of effective implementation of AML/CFT obligations by entities operating in the virtual digital asset space and highlighted the role of robust compliance frameworks in safeguarding the integrity of India’s financial system. He also stressed the need for continued stakeholder engagement in implementing these frameworks.
Ashima Batra, Additional Director at FIU-IND, also addressed the delegates, sharing the regulator’s perspective on supervisory expectations and compliance practices for reporting entities.
The FIU-IND plays a central role in India’s financial integrity architecture. Through its regulatory oversight, intelligence analysis, and coordination with domestic and international agencies, the unit has contributed significantly to aligning India’s financial system with global AML/CFT standards.
Its direct engagement with emerging sectors like virtual digital assets signals a continued push to ensure that financial innovation in India develops within a strong compliance and governance framework.
What the workshop covered
The workshop was organized to facilitate structured engagement between FIU-IND and industry stakeholders on the interpretation and implementation of the updated AML/CFT guidelines applicable to VDA service providers.
Discussions focused on strengthening compliance preparedness, enhancing supervisory understanding, and addressing operational challenges faced by reporting entities.
The event included focused sessions on several key aspects of AML/CFT compliance, including transaction monitoring and suspicious transaction reporting, enterprise-wide risk management frameworks, governance and oversight responsibilities of designated directors and principal officers, and institutional approaches to AML/CFT training and compliance culture.
The sessions were followed by an interactive discussion between FIU officials and industry participants on practical implementation challenges and operational best practices.
Representatives from leading VDA service providers and BWA member companies attended the workshop. The event provided an opportunity for regulators and industry stakeholders to exchange perspectives on strengthening compliance mechanisms and enhancing regulatory clarity for the sector.
BWA Chairperson reaffirms commitment to compliance
Dilip Chenoy, Chairperson of Bharat Web3 Association, said that BWA remains committed to supporting a responsible and compliant digital asset ecosystem in India.
He noted that the guidance provided by FIU-IND has been instrumental in strengthening AML/CFT compliance across the sector and that the workshop was organized to facilitate dialogue between regulators and industry participants and to support reporting entities in operationalizing the updated guidelines.
The workshop concluded with a discussion on strengthening collaboration between regulators and industry stakeholders to further enhance compliance standards across the virtual digital asset ecosystem in India.
Why this matters: India’s tightening crypto compliance landscape
The workshop comes at a time when India is rapidly tightening its regulatory oversight of crypto platforms. In January 2026, the FIU-IND issued updated compliance guidelines for crypto and VDA firms, introducing mandatory CERT-In cybersecurity audits, clearer Principal Officer responsibilities, and tightened Travel Rule norms with added scrutiny on unhosted wallet and P2P transactions.
Around the same time, FIU-IND also cracked down with stricter KYC rules, requiring live selfie verification, location tracking during onboarding, and enhanced due diligence for high-risk clients. Privacy coins, tumblers, and mixers were flagged as carrying serious money laundering risks, and exchanges were told to strongly discourage ICOs and ITOs.
As of early 2026, 49 crypto exchanges have registered with FIU-IND as reporting entities, including 45 India-based platforms and four offshore exchanges serving Indian users. Strategic analysis of suspicious transaction reports (STRs) filed by these exchanges revealed crypto funds being misused for hawala transfers, scams, gambling, fraud, and in one case, illegal adult content.
On the broader regulatory front, India’s CBDT amended income tax rules in March 2026 to formally classify crypto-assets, CBDCs, and electronic money products as financial assets under the FATCA/CRS reporting framework, retroactively effective from January 1, 2026. This is seen as the final piece of domestic plumbing before India plugs into the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), targeted for enforcement by April 2027.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs’ PRAHAAR strategy, released in February 2026, also put the spotlight on crypto wallets and blockchain as potential tools for terror financing, further underscoring the government’s focus on building a robust compliance ecosystem around digital assets.
BWA’s self-regulatory track record
BWA has been proactively implementing self-regulatory measures for its member firms even as India awaits a comprehensive crypto regulatory framework. In December 2024, the association launched the Alliance for Blockchain and Crypto Defence (ABCD), an initiative focused on pooling resources and expertise to combat rising cyber threats in the Web3 space.
The alliance works with government agencies, including the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), State Cybercrime Cells, CERT-In, I4C, and FIU-IND.
In January 2025, BWA unveiled its Cybersecurity and Fair-Trading Guidelines for Virtual Asset Service Providers, directing member firms to implement measures against wash trading, insider trading, and pump-and-dump schemes, with a compliance deadline of June 2025.
The association, chaired by former FICCI Secretary General Dilip Chenoy, counts among its members major Indian crypto platforms like CoinDCX, CoinSwitch, WazirX, ZebPay, and global players like Coinbase, along with infrastructure providers and Web3 firms.
With Pakistan recently enacting a full crypto law establishing a dedicated Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, and the EU already enforcing its crypto reporting regime under DAC8, India’s approach of building compliance infrastructure through industry-regulator collaboration, as seen in this BWA-FIU workshop, reflects a preference for structured engagement over sweeping legislation, at least for now.
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