Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (CAM) advised and represented KuCoin (Peken Global Limited), one of the largest global digital assets exchanges, before the FinancialIntelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), resulting in unblocking of KuCoin’s platform in India and making it the first offshore digital assets / cryptocurrency platform to become a FIU-registered VDASP in India.
Kucoin is the first offshore global cryptocurrency exchange platform to register with the FIU-IND. CAM advised and assisted in the documentation for KuCoin’s FIU-IND registration, while also successfully defending against App/website ‘take-down’ orders imposed by the MEITY in December 2023. CAM appeared before the regulatory authorities, on behalf ofKuCoin,leading to withdrawalofthe MEITYorders, unblocking of KuCoin’s website and its application on Google Play / Apple stores. The team also advised KuCoin on their India ‘on-shoring’ strategy and taxation aspects.
The team that represented KuCoin was led by Anu Tiwari, Partner & Co-Head Fintech; Pallavi Rao, Partner; and Gauhar Mirza, Partner; with support from Utkarsh Bhatnagar, Principal Associate; Hiral Gupta, Principal Associate; Aditya Sarkar, Associate; Shrish Gautam, Associate; Paavni Jain, Associate; Dhruv Chhajed, Associate; and Varnika Pasricha, Associate.
The tax team advised on the virtual assets taxation aspects and was led by Kunal Savani, Partner; with support from Bipluv Jhingan, Principal Associate; Shivam Garg, Senior Associate; and Lakshya Gupta, Associate.
The date of receipt of final order was 22nd March 2024.
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About Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas (cam) is India’s leading law firm with a global reputation of being trusted advisers to its clients. The Firm advises a large and diverse set of clients, including domestic and foreign commercial enterprises, financial institutions, private equity and venture capital funds, start-ups, government, and regulatory bodies. The Firm generalists,specialists and senior ex-regulators expertly guide clients across a spectrum of transactions, sectors, and regulations. The Firm is one of the largest full-service law firm in India and offices in key business centers at Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, GIFT City, Singapore and Abu Dhabi.
The Firm received “National Law Firm of the Year: India” at the IFLR Asia-Pacific Awards for the second consecutive years in 2023 and 2022 and “Innovation in Advancing Markets” award at the FT Innovative Lawyers Asia Pacific 2022 Awards. The Firm had won “India Deal Firm of the Year” at the ALB India Awards and “Firm of the Year” at the IFLR1000 India Awards in 2022.
