Trouble Deepens for WazirX in India as ED Raids Director & Freezes Bank Accounts

TheDinarian

News • Business • Investing & Finance

? The Dinarian on Locals brings you the latest in news, interviews, in-depth conversations, and stories from across the blockchain and global communities—within and beyond cryptocurrency ?. Experts delve into how blockchain technology is reshaping industries, enhancing business networks ?, transforming transaction workflows, and advancing distributed ledger systems ??. We also explore intriguing topics that may venture into the realm of conspiracies—and so much more!

Interested? Want to learn more about the community?

Show me more content first

thedinarian@thedinarian

August 06, 2022

Trouble Deepens for WazirX in India as ED Raids Director & Freezes Bank Accounts

On August 5, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) froze the bank account of one of the directors of Zanmai Lab Private Ltd, the operator of the Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX.

It is reported that bank assets worth Rs 64.67 crores (over $8 million) were frozen after the agency conducted a raid in Hyderabad.

Binance-backed WazirX has been under investigation
The news comes soon after Pankaj Chaudhary, Minister of State for Finance, confirmed in the Parliamentary Upper House that the Directorate of Enforcement is looking into claims that a total of Rs 2,790 crore (over $350 million) was laundered through the Binance-backed exchange in two cases.

This time around, the WazirX Director was reportedly charged by the central agency for aiding rapid lending app companies in the purchase and transfer of virtual cryptocurrency assets used to launder illicit money.

NDTV reported that the raids were conducted on Sameer Mhatre, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of the platform, with ED adding “He has complete remote access to the database of WazirX, but he is not providing the details of the transactions.”

This essentially means that the raid was conducted on the director’s premises under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) after his non-cooperation with the agency.

Be[In]Crypto had also cited reports earlier that the ED is investigating the platform on two cases under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA). While in one case, the platform is being probed for allowing foreign users to exchange one cryptocurrency for another on its own exchange as well as by using transfers from other foreign exchanges. In another case, transactions “cloaked in mystery” between Binance and WazirX are being investigated.

The allegation of aiding illicit loan apps to launder money
Another local report quoted the Enforcement Directorate as saying: “When police and ED started crackdown, the loan app firms used the cryptocurrency route to take money out of the country. Most of the money is transferred to Hong Kong through crypto assets via WazirX. We found evidence regarding the transfer of money to crypto assets. We have frozen more than Rs 100 crore crypto assets of WazirX.”

WazirX allegedly assisted 16 accused fintech firms in using the cryptocurrency channel to launder criminal proceeds.

“By encouraging obscurity and having lax Anti-Money Laundering (AML) norms, it has actively assisted around 16 accused fintech companies in laundering the proceeds of crime using the crypto route. Therefore, equivalent movable assets to the extent of Rs 64.67 crore lying with WazirX were frozen under PMLA, 2002,” the central agency said.

And now the investigating agency is also reported to be tracking Indian NBFCs and fintech partners of rapid loan apps that operate against the central bank guidelines. These illegal applications were found to be operating in contravention of RBI regulations to extort excessive interest rates and abuse personal information collected from loan applicants.

“Various fintech companies backed by Chinese funds could not get an NBFC license from RBI for carrying out lending business. So they devised the MoU route with defunct NBFCs to piggyback on their license,” the agency found.

“It is seen that maximum amount of funds were diverted to WazirX exchange and the crypto assets so purchased have been diverted to unknown foreign wallets,” the ED note added.

Transactions between Binance and WazirX still unclear
That said, ED is also reportedly scrutinizing the earlier statements by the exchange and its co-founder. The central agency pointed out, “Earlier, their managing director Nischal Shetty had claimed that WazirX is an Indian exchange that controls all the crypto-crypto & INR-crypto transactions and only has an IP & 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 WazirX. They are giving contradictory & ambiguous answers to evade oversight by Indian regulatory agencies,” a CNBC report quoted the ED.

While further investigation is underway, a statement from the exchange is awaited.

The last tweet earlier today from the company’s managing director, Nischal Shetty, outlined how decentralization solves the problem of monopoly by centralized institutions.

Interested? Want to learn more about the community?

Show me more content first

What else you may like…

Videos

Podcasts

Posts

Articles

thedinarian@thedinarian

9 minutes ago

🚨BREAKING: BRAD GARLINGHOUSE SAYS XRP IS REWRITING THE ENTIRE BANKING SYSTEM 💣💥

“WE UNDERESTIMATE HOW MASSIVE THIS SHIFT REALLY IS” – XRP VEGAS 🔥

👑 Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse just stunned the crowd at XRP Las Vegas with one of the boldest declarations yet: “This isn’t a zero-sum game… we’re growing the pie. And XRP might grow it faster.”

💡 He backed David Schwartz’s bombshell vision: "We’re rewiring the global financial system over the next 10–20 years — and we’re just getting started."

💬 Brad made it clear: • BTC ≠ enemy — if they win, we win 🤝

• The real enemy? Outdated infrastructure 🏦🪓

• Ripple is now unshackled — building the future, not fighting the past 🚀

🔓 Hidden Road deal = strategic reset.

🧠 Conversation has shifted from “what happened” to “what’s next.”

00:01:13

thedinarian@thedinarian

1 hour ago

Have you noticed a Personality Change in those who took the experimental Covid Vaccines?

If so, here’s the theory as to why this has happened, and it makes perfect sense as to why the elites would do this. THEY do not want you to be able to step into your power. With this destroyed, THEY win.

00:01:10

thedinarian@thedinarian

May 31, 2025

Stargate: Establishing the Physical Foundations of the AI Revolution 🛰️🌎

The Stargate initiative represents the most substantial investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure to date, as it begins to materialize on a global scale. While many perceive AI as an ethereal technology—simply accessed via applications like ChatGPT 🤖—each digital interaction is, in fact, powered by extensive physical resources: vast data centers 🏢, thousands of cutting-edge GPUs 💾, sophisticated cooling systems 💧, dedicated power grids ⚡, and essential water pipelines 🚰. AI does not reside on personal devices; it is anchored on Earth and demands significant resources.

As artificial intelligence continues to advance, its infrastructure needs only intensify. Regardless of improvements in model efficiency, the explosive growth in usage—billions of queries, ongoing model training, and worldwide deployment—necessitates ever-greater computing power, land, electricity, and semiconductors. This expansion is not plateauing; it is accelerating 📈.

Stargate stands ...

00:01:55

thedinarian@thedinarian

October 31, 2024

👉 Coinbase just launched an AI agent for Crypto Trading

Custom AI assistants that print money in your sleep? 🔜

The future of Crypto x AI is about to go crazy.

👉 Here’s what you need to know:

💠 'Based Agent' enables creation of custom AI agents
💠 Users set up personalized agents in < 3 minutes
💠 Equipped w/ crypto wallet and on-chain functions
💠 Capable of completing trades, swaps, and staking
💠 Integrates with Coinbase’s SDK, OpenAI, & Replit

👉 What this means for the future of Crypto:

1. Open Access: Democratized access to advanced trading
2. Automated Txns: Complex trades + streamlined on-chain activity
3. AI Dominance: Est ~80% of crypto 👉txns done by AI agents by 2025

🚨 I personally wouldn't bet against Brian Armstrong and Jesse Pollak.

thedinarian@thedinarian

25 minutes ago

‼️MAJOR CONFIRMATION DIRECTLY FROM SWIFT

‼️MAJOR CONFIRMATION DIRECTLY FROM SWIFT: “No more delays — THE NOVEMBER 2025 DEADLINE FOR ISO 20022 MIGRATION IS FINAL AND WILL NOT MOVE.”‼️

OP: @Smqkedqg

thedinarian@thedinarian

40 minutes ago

The Vatican's Control Runs Deep 👀

The Vatican has been the subject of countless theories throughout history. From secret archives to alleged world domination schemes. Let's explore the most common Vatican theories, their origins, and what we actually know.

The Major Vatican Theories:

The Illuminati Connection: The Vatican secretly controls or collaborates with the Illuminati to establish a New World Order.

Secret Archives Control: The Vatican Secret Archives contain proof of alien contact, suppressed scientific discoveries, or evidence of historical cover-ups.

The P2 Masonic Lodge Scandal: The Vatican Bank was involved in a massive conspiracy involving the P2 Masonic lodge, political corruption, and murder.

Suppression of Scientific Knowledge: The Vatican has systematically suppressed scientific discoveries that contradict Church doctrine.

The Third Secret of Fatima: The Vatican is hiding apocalyptic prophecies revealed at Fatima that would cause global panic if disclosed.

Financial Scandals: Legitimate concerns about ...

thedinarian@thedinarian

14 hours ago

Veritaseum Hodlers, Are You Ready For Chaos? 🚀 👩‍🚀

What would happen if Veritaseum was "Resurrected" from the Land of Dead Cryptos? Would Clif High's prediction of Veri trading 1 to 1 with Bitcoin actually come TRUE?! We may just find out SOONER than you think!!

thedinarian@thedinarian

May 31, 2025

Stellar's Ecosystem Surges Forward: Smart Contracts, Lightning Speed, and Real-World Impact in 2025

The Stellar blockchain ecosystem is experiencing remarkable momentum in 2025, with groundbreaking technical achievements and expanding real-world adoption that position it as a major player in the decentralized finance landscape. From lightning-fast transaction speeds to innovative smart contract capabilities, Stellar is demonstrating that blockchain technology can deliver both performance and practical utility.

Technical Breakthroughs Drive Performance

The Stellar Development Foundation's Q1 2025 quarterly report reveals impressive technical milestones that showcase the network's maturation. The platform now processes an astounding 5,000 transactions per second with remarkably fast 2.5-second block times, putting it among the fastest blockchain networks in operation today.

This performance leap isn't just about raw numbers—it represents Stellar's commitment to creating infrastructure that can handle real-world demand. Whether it's cross-border payments, asset tokenization, or decentralized applications, the network's enhanced capabilities provide the foundation for scalable blockchain solutions.

Smart Contracts Get Smarter with Soroban

One of the most significant developments has been the launch and continued evolution of Soroban, Stellar's smart contract platform. The introduction of Contract Copilot represents a major advancement in developer experience, enabling faster and safer smart contract development through enhanced tooling and guidance.

This focus on developer experience is crucial for ecosystem growth. By lowering barriers to entry and improving the development process, Stellar is positioning itself to attract innovative projects and talented developers who might otherwise choose competing platforms.

New Token Standards Meet Market Needs

The Stellar Development Foundation has introduced new token standards developed specifically based on feedback from developers and institutional users. This responsive approach to platform development demonstrates Stellar's commitment to building technology that meets actual market needs rather than theoretical requirements.

These standards are particularly important as institutional adoption continues to grow, with organizations requiring robust, compliant, and flexible token frameworks for their blockchain initiatives.

Global USDC Integration Expands Utility

The integration of USDC across Stellar's global network represents a significant milestone for practical cryptocurrency adoption. Stablecoins like USDC provide the price stability necessary for everyday transactions and business operations, making them crucial for blockchain platforms seeking real-world utility.

This integration is particularly impactful in emerging markets, where access to stable digital currencies can provide financial services to underbanked populations and facilitate more efficient cross-border transactions.

Industry Events Build Community Momentum

The Stellar ecosystem's growing influence is evident in its presence at major industry events. The foundation's participation as a sponsor at Consensus 2025 in Toronto and Digital Assets Week in New York demonstrates its commitment to engaging with builders, investors, and institutional leaders across the blockchain space.

These events serve as crucial networking opportunities and platforms for showcasing innovative projects within the Stellar ecosystem. Recent Meridian events have highlighted creative projects like Skyhitz and HoneyCoin, illustrating the collaborative spirit and diverse applications being built on the platform.

Real-World Impact in Emerging Markets

Perhaps most importantly, Stellar's growth isn't just about technical metrics—it's about real-world impact. The platform's focus on emerging markets addresses genuine financial inclusion challenges, providing efficient payment rails and access to digital financial services where traditional banking infrastructure may be limited.

This practical approach to blockchain implementation sets Stellar apart from projects that focus primarily on speculative trading or theoretical use cases. By solving actual problems for real users, Stellar is building sustainable demand for its technology.

Looking Ahead: Enterprise-Grade Infrastructure

Stellar positions itself as offering enterprise-grade asset tokenization alongside its DeFi capabilities and payment infrastructure. This comprehensive approach makes it attractive to institutions looking for a single platform that can handle multiple blockchain use cases.

The combination of fast transactions, low costs, smart contract capabilities, and regulatory-conscious development creates a compelling value proposition for enterprises considering blockchain adoption.

The Road Forward

As 2025 progresses, Stellar's ecosystem appears well-positioned for continued growth. The technical infrastructure improvements, developer-focused enhancements, and real-world adoption initiatives create a strong foundation for expanding use cases and user adoption.

The blockchain industry has seen many projects promise revolutionary capabilities, but Stellar's focus on delivering measurable performance improvements and practical solutions suggests a mature approach to blockchain development. With transaction speeds that rival traditional payment systems and growing institutional adoption, Stellar is demonstrating that blockchain technology can move beyond experimental phases into mainstream utility.

For developers, institutions, and users looking for blockchain solutions that prioritize both performance and practical applicability, Stellar's 2025 developments represent significant progress toward a more accessible and useful decentralized financial ecosystem.

Source: The Dinarian ⚡ Claude AI

🙏 Donations Accepted 🙏

If you find value in my content, consider showing your support via:

💳 PayPal:
1) Simply scan the QR code below 📲
2) https://www.paypal.me/thedinarian

🔗 Crypto – Support via Coinbase Wallet to: [email protected]

Or Buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/thedinarian

Your generosity keeps this mission alive, for all! Namasté 🙏 The Dinarian

Read full Article

thedinarian@thedinarian

May 31, 2025

Soroban Security Audit Bank: Raising the Standard for Smart Contract Security

The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) is deeply committed to helping ensure that the highest security standards are available for projects building on the Stellar network. Last year SDF launched the Soroban Security Audit Bank, an initiative to provide projects access to auditing experts and tooling that are proven to help prevent hacks by catching potential bugs, inefficiencies, and security flaws before contracts go live. Through the Soroban Security Audit Bank, we’re empowering teams building on Soroban with comprehensive security audits from leading audit firms, enhanced readiness support, and robust tooling, significantly elevating the ecosystem’s safety and efficiency.

Since launch, the Soroban Security Audit Bank has successfully conducted over 40 essential audits, deploying over $3 million to support security of the smart contracts on Stellar. Check it out!

Ecosystem Success Stories: How the Soroban Audit Bank Drives Security Forward

By making automated formal verification available to developers, in addition to allocating significant budget for securing many of the top DeFi protocols built on top of Stellar, SDF has established a new security standard in the Web3 ecosystem. –Mooly Sagiv, Co-Founder of Certora

SDF has been a strong partner as we’ve worked with teams across the Stellar ecosystem. SDF’s Audit Bank initiative allows for a smooth and streamlined review process, and is a clear reflection of the Stellar ecosystem’s enhanced commitment to security. –Robert Chen, CEO of OtterSec

Leading projects within the Soroban ecosystem have highlighted the impact of the Audit Bank

Finding a good auditor is difficult, expensive, and high-stakes. The Audit Bank streamlines the process and supports ecosystem projects with security review at critical growth milestones. –Markus Paulson, Co-Founder of Script3

The audit firms we worked with deeply understood the full ecosystem and the underlying protocols used. Their expertise and the tools from the Audit Bank strengthened our security and supported user and investor trust. –Esteban Iglesias Manríquez, Co-Founder of Palta.Labs

What's New in 2025: Enhanced Audit Support for Soroban Builders

Teams building financial protocols, high-dependency data services, high-traction dApps funded by the Stellar Community Fund are able to request an audit and will typically be matched with a reputable audit firm within two weeks. We recently restructured the program for this year to enhance audit efficiency and incentivize accountability, and rapid and complete vulnerability remediation:

Complimentary Initial Audit: Projects will need to contribute 5% of the audit cost upfront, but this co-payment amount is eligible for a full refund, provided that critical, high, and medium vulnerabilities identified are swiftly remediated within 20 business days of receiving the initial audit report (learn more).
Incentivized Security at Key Traction Milestones: Complimentary, extensive follow-up audits are available as projects achieve critical traction milestones (e.g., $10M and $100M TVL). These audits include deeper assessments such as formal verification or competitive audits, significantly boosting project security at pivotal stages.
Advanced Security Tooling: Projects can enhance their security self-serve through complimentary or discounted access to specialized tooling, which provide vulnerability detection and formal verification capabilities (see full list of available tooling). These tools are encouraged to capture ‘easy-to-spot’ issues prior to audit as well as a final check post-audit to increase the effectiveness and thoroughness of audits.
Enhanced Audit Readiness Support: Projects receive structured preparation support, including the implementation of best practices and security standards based on the STRIDE threat modeling framework. This ensures project teams are thoroughly prepared, optimizing audit efficiency and minimizing delays.

Get Started Today

If you're already funded through the Stellar Community Fund, meet the criteria and ready to secure your smart contracts, check your email for an invitation to submit an audit request–if you haven’t received one, contact [email protected].

If you haven't built on Stellar yet, we encourage you to start your journey with the Stellar Community Fund to become eligible for future security audits and ecosystem support. For any broader questions on the program, contact [email protected].

Also, we’re organizing an exciting series of workshops–join us for the kick-off on Soroban Security Best Practices on Friday, May 30, 2025 at 2 PM ET on @StellarOrg. Together, we're shaping a secure and resilient future for smart contracts on Stellar.

Source

🙏 Donations Accepted 🙏

If you find value in my content, consider showing your support via:

💳 PayPal:
1) Simply scan the QR code below 📲
2) https://www.paypal.me/thedinarian

🔗 Crypto – Support via Coinbase Wallet to: [email protected]

Or Buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/thedinarian

Your generosity keeps this mission alive, for all! Namasté 🙏 The Dinarian

Read full Article

thedinarian@thedinarian

May 31, 2025

Santander mulls stablecoin, crypto offering

Bloomberg reported that Banco Santander is mulling introducing euro and dollar stablecoins, or potentially making a third party coin available to clients, citing sources. This move aligns with broader crypto ambitions, as its digital bank, Openbank, has reportedly applied for a European cryptocurrency license under the Mica Regulations and may enable retail access to digital assets.

Systemically important banks embrace stablecoins?

Major banks are now moving from observers to participants in this expanding market. Should Santander confirm plans to launch a stablecoin, it will be the fourth global systemically important bank (G-SIB) to do so. Societe Generale’s FORGE subsidiary launched the EURCV euro coin in 2023. Deutsche Bank is a partner in ALLUnity, another stablecoin initiative with plans to launch this year, subject to regulatory approval. And Standard Chartered is part of a joint venture in Hong Kong that intends to introduce a stablecoin.

Santander’s involvement could extend beyond an individual initiative. The bank is a shareholder in The Clearing House, where the Wall Street Journal reported that US banks are exploring the potential to create a joint stablecoin. If a US initiative took that route it could involve nine more G-SIBs including Bank of America, Barclays, BMO, BNY Mellon, Citi, HSBC, JP Morgan, TD Bank and Wells Fargo.

Apart from these initiatives, our research shows that more than 20 other banks have been involved in stablecoin projects.

Until recently stablecoins were mainly used to settle cryptocurrency transactions and by residents in countries with volatile domestic currencies. During the last year stablecoin infrastructure has been expanding, especially for mainstream cross border payments. Plus, President Trump issued an executive order prioritizing stablecoins. One of the administration’s motivations is this increases demand for US Treasuries, lowering the interest rate the government pays on the Treasury bills.

Santander as an early digital assets mover

Santander’s stablecoin consideration builds on years of blockchain experience. The bank was an early Ripple investor and previously used Ripple’s permissioned network for payments (not XRP), while also embracing permissionless blockchain activities including issuing a digital bond on Ethereum in 2019. This dual approach led to collaborations with other major players – alongside Societe Generale FORGE and Goldman Sachs, Santander participated in the European Investment Bank’s first digital bond, also on Ethereum. Currently, the bank’s most significant digital money initiative involves Fnality, the wholesale blockchain-based settlement network, where Santander ranks among 20 institutional backers and is part of the early adopter group alongside Lloyds Bank and UBS.

Source

🙏 Donations Accepted 🙏

If you find value in my content, consider showing your support via:

💳 PayPal:
1) Simply scan the QR code below 📲
2) https://www.paypal.me/thedinarian

🔗 Crypto – Support via Coinbase Wallet to: [email protected]

Or Buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/thedinarian

Your generosity keeps this mission alive, for all! Namasté 🙏 The Dinarian

Read full Article

Available on mobile and TV devices