PANews reported on February 5 that according to Cointelegraph, the Indian Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) imposed a fine of 927 million rupees (about 1.06 million US dollars) on the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit because it failed to complete registration in accordance with the Anti-Money Laundering Act (PMLA), resulting in unclear compliance status.

Official documents show that Bybit, as a virtual digital asset service provider (VDA SP), is identified as a "reporting entity" under Section 2(1)(WA) of the PMLA, but continues to expand its business in the Indian market without obtaining mandatory registration with FIU-IND. Therefore, FIU-IND instructed the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) to block its website in accordance with the Information Technology Act to prevent its operations.

Previously, Bybit suspended its business in India due to regulatory pressure and submitted a VDA SP registration application on June 26, 2024. Vikas Gupta, Bybit's India country manager, said that it expects to obtain a full operating license in the coming weeks. Cointelegraph reported that Bybit had successfully registered and paid the fine, but a Bybit spokesperson later withdrew this information. At present, the FIU has not yet clarified Bybit's fine payment and registration status.