Wazir X – a large and popular digital currency exchange stationed in India – is currently the subject of a financial probe that executives say they’re cooperating with. At the time of writing, the company’s bank balances have been frozen by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Wazir X Is Being Questioned
A spokesperson for the exchange recently stated in an interview:
We have been fully cooperating with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for several days and have responded to all their queries fully and transparently.
At the same time, the company has stated it does not agree with the charges being brought against it, and executives say they will fight the allegations with everything they have. They mention:
We do not agree with the allegations in the ED press release. We are evaluating our further plan of action.
The ED believes that Wazir X has been engaging in money laundering tactics. A few weeks ago, agents from the organizations searched property owned by one of the company’s directors. In a statement, officials of the ED commented:
Zanmai Labs Pvt Ltd, the company that owns Wazir X, has created a web of agreements with Crowd Fire Inc. USA, Binance (Cayman Islands), [and] Zettai Pte Ltd Singapore to obscure the ownership of the crypto exchange. Earlier, their managing director Nischal Shetty claimed that Wazir X is an Indian exchange which controls all crypto-crypto and INR-crypto transactions and only has an IP and preferential agreement with Binance, but now, Zanmai claims that they are involved in only INR-crypto transactions, and all the other transactions are done by Binance on Wazir X. They are giving contradictory and ambiguous answers to evade oversight by Indian regulatory agencies.
Wazir X is just one of many crypto exchanges in the country of India that have been suffering lately. The crypto crash has ultimately brought everyone down, but it appears India is suffering more at the hands of what could be one of the biggest bear markets in the history of the space. Several exchanges have seen their trading volumes go down as traders seek to take their money out of risky assets, and several have even been forced to liquidate and/ or file for bankruptcy.
Wazir X is just one of the few crypto exchanges that have managed to survive the turmoil, but with so many agents crawling up its back, it’s hard to say what the future holds for the popular trading platform.
Mixed Messages?
The founder and CEO of the exchange recently stated:
Zanmai Labs is an Indian entity owned by me and my co-founders. Zanmai Labs has a license from Binance to operate INR-crypto pairs in Wazir X. Binance operates crypto to crypto pairs and processes crypto withdrawals. You can check this fact by going to the TOS of Wazir X.
Source: https://www.livebitcoinnews.com/crypto-exchange-wazir-x-accused-of-money-laundering/