CoinSwitch Kuber is 'fully cooperating' with India's Enforcement Directorate, CEO says

CoinSwitch Kuber co-founder and CEO Ashish Singhal said Saturday on Twitter that his firm is cooperating with India's Enforcement Directorate and that last week's reported searches were not related to money laundering.

"Enforcement Directorate - Bengaluru has been engaged with us with respect to [the] functioning of our crypto platforms / exchanges," Singhal wrote. "We are fully cooperating with them."

Reports from Bloomberg and CoinDesk indicated last week that the searches were related to the country's foreign exchange statutes. Authorities in India have been conducting investigations into the country's crypto exchange ecosystem for months. 

Singhal didn't address the specifics behind the Enforcement Directorate's actions, but highlighted the still-unsettled nature of crypto regulation in India.

"Crypto is a new asset class. Being in early stages, cryptos are not yet clearly classified in most parts of the world. Now, the law (in India and elsewhere) is still assessing if crypto is a 'commodity', 'security', 'currency' or something new," Singhal wrote. "This is a work in progress."

In a Saturday report, Reuters said that, per a source with knowledge of the process, financial records were seized during the office visits and officials asked questions regarding "foreign investments, income and outflows to check on compliance." 

CoinSwitch "is committed to building a responsible crypto ecosystem that contributes to the Indian Economy, and creates wealth and employment for millions of Indians," Singhal wrote in the Twitter thread.

CoinSwitch raised a $260 million Series C funding round last October and is backed by VC majors including Andreessen Horowitz and Tiger Global, among others.