The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached proceeds of crime totalling ₹4,189.89 crore in multiple cryptocurrency-related investigations and has declared one accused a Fugitive Economic Offender, Parliament was informed on Monday. The disclosures came in a written reply to the Lok Sabha and mark one of the most substantial asset-attachment announcements linked to virtual digital assets (VDAs) in recent months.

According to the statement, the ED has pursued several cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), resulting in the attachment, seizure or freezing of these crypto-linked proceeds. The agency has also arrested 29 individuals and filed 22 prosecution complaints so far as part of its drive against alleged laundering through crypto channels. These enforcement actions form a concentrated effort by Indian authorities to clamp down on suspected illicit flows routed via unregulated or opaque virtual asset ecosystems.

The Ministry of Finance disclosure also highlighted the role of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in identifying undeclared income from VDAs. The CBDT detected ₹888.82 crore of undisclosed income arising from virtual digital asset transactions during search and seizure operations and has issued compliance communications to assessable taxpayers. As part of compliance enforcement, the CBDT has reportedly sent 44,057 communications to taxpayers who traded or invested in VDAs but failed to report them in the Schedule VDA of their income-tax returns.

Bringing VDAs under the PMLA framework has enabled investigative agencies to treat certain crypto proceeds as proceeds of crime where evidence of predicate offences exists. The ED’s statement points to cross-case investigations, multiple arrests, and ongoing prosecution efforts aimed at dismantling complex money-laundering chains that may involve mixing of fiat and crypto assets across jurisdictions. Officials say these steps are intended both to recover illicit gains and deter misuse of digital assets for criminal activity.

The declaration of a Fugitive Economic Offender (FEO) in one of the cases is significant because the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act allows authorities to confiscate properties of accused persons who flee the country to avoid prosecution. Once designated an FEO by the adjudicating authority, legal processes permit recovery and attachment of properties and proceeds linked to the accused. The ED’s move to invoke this route signals its intent to pursue not just attached assets but also residual proceeds and overseas leads where available.

Industry observers say such actions are likely to sharpen regulatory scrutiny of the crypto sector in India. While the government has introduced tax and reporting rules for VDAs in recent years, the large-scale attachments and income detection numbers underline enforcement priorities focused on tax evasion, unreported gains and potential money-laundering pathways. Market participants and compliance professionals will be watching for further details on the types of crypto instruments, exchanges, and schemes that featured in the ED’s cases.

Experts caution that crypto’s cross-border nature requires international cooperation for effective asset tracing and recovery. Indian agencies have, in past probes, sought mutual legal assistance and coordinated seizures with foreign counterparts to follow funds moved across exchanges, mixers and chain-hopping operations. The ED’s announcement underscores a multi-pronged approach — enforcement, prosecution and tax compliance — that aims to reduce regulatory arbitrage and make illicit crypto flows harder to conceal.

The government’s disclosures to Parliament did not name all the entities or individuals involved in the attached cases, nor did they detail the exact modus operandi in each case. However, the broad statistics — attachments worth over ₹4,189 crore, nearly 30 arrests and more than 22 prosecution complaints — indicate a sustained enforcement campaign targeting diverse crypto-linked offences. Authorities have signalled that more investigations and legal actions could follow as probes continue.

What this means for investors and service providers is an elevated expectation of compliance and transparency. Regulators and tax authorities are increasingly equipped to detect undeclared VDA transactions and pursue cases where proceeds are linked to criminal predicates. For legitimate market participants, the message is clear: proper reporting, adherence to anti-money-laundering (AML) norms and swift cooperation with authorities will be essential to operate within India’s evolving legal framework for virtual assets.

As probes progress, stakeholders will look for more granular public information about the specific channels used to launder funds, the role of domestic or foreign exchanges, and whether any systemic gaps in compliance or oversight contributed to the alleged misuse. Meanwhile, the ED’s attachments and the CBDT’s detection numbers are likely to feature in ongoing policy debates on how India balances innovation in digital assets with robust safeguards against financial crime.