Usage of virtual currencies not authorized by monetary authority: Minister
By TIOL News Service
NEW DELHI, APR 12, 2017: THE Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Mr Arjun Ram Meghwal, in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha yesterday informed that the creation, trading or usage of Virtual Currencies (VCs) including Bitcoins, as a medium of payment is not authorized by any central bank or monetary authority. No regulatory approval, registration or authorization have been obtained by the entities concerned for carrying on such activities.
Reserve Bank of India, vide, its Press Release dated February 01, 2017 has advised that it has not given any license / authorization to any entity / company to operate schemes or to deal with Bitcoin or any virtual currency. As such, any user, holder, investor, trader, etc. dealing with Virtual Currencies will be doing so at their own risk.
Reserve Bank of India had issued cautionary advice to the users, holders and traders of Virtual Currencies (VCs) including Bitcoins about the potential financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security related risks that they are exposing themselves to, vide, its press release dated December 24, 2013.
The absence of counter parties in the usage of VCs including Bitcoins, for illicit and illegal activities in anonymous/ pseudonymous systems could subject the users to unintentional breaches of anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) laws.
|