ED Action Against Saber Money and Mudrex Over Illegal Crypto Transfers

In a fresh move against suspected illegal cross-border financial activity, the Enforcement Directorate has conducted searches at multiple premises connected to a company allegedly running crypto-based money transfer platforms.

The ED's Bengaluru zonal office carried out the searches on October 27 under Section 37 of FEMA, 1999. Three locations were searched in Bengaluru and one in Madhya Pradesh.

The investigation was triggered by complaints against M/s RPFAS Technologies Private Limited, a Bengaluru-based company accused of operating under the brands Mudrex and Saber Money. The agency says these platforms were allegedly used for unauthorised cross-border transfers and cryptocurrency trading.

According to the ED, early confidential inquiries and intelligence inputs suggested that the company was using crypto tokens, especially stablecoins such as USDT and USDC, to run a system of cross-border money transfers that bypassed authorised banking and remittance channels.

The agency believes this may have violated the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act. It also said the company was promoting instant international transfers online while allegedly offering cross-border payment services without the approval of the Reserve Bank of India.

The company's websites reportedly advertised the conversion of traditional money into crypto, the buying and selling of digital assets, and the exchange of one token for another. Such services, the ED said, could allow funds to be sent to another country in crypto form and then converted into local currency there.

The agency explained that on-ramp services convert fiat currencies like the Indian rupee, US dollar and euro into digital assets such as Bitcoin or USDT, whereas off-ramp services allow users to sell crypto and move the proceeds into a bank account.

Whether FEMA provisions were actually breached in these transactions is now being examined. The ED has not disclosed any details about recoveries or other outcomes of the searches, and the probe remains under way.