ED Partners with CoinDCX for Custody Management of Seized Assets

CoinDCX announced its partnership with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday, March 5. With the partnership, CoinDCX will manage the custody of crypto assets seized by the ED. As India’s financial watchdog, the ED has been cracking down on illegal crypto operations nationwide, seizing crypto assets worth crores as part of its investigations and requiring secure storage. The Mumbai-based centralised exchange is registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). To support the ED, CoinDCX will deploy a specialised team trained in advanced security protocols.

“CoinDCX has worked closely with the directorate, facilitating the opening of the custodian account on urgent basis,” Parneet Kumar, Assistant Director, Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Government of India said in a statement.

The exchange will store seized assets in multi-signature and multi-party computation (MPC) wallets. Multi-signature wallets require multiple keys for withdrawals, while MPC wallets distribute a private key into multiple shards across devices. Both methods enhance security by eliminating single points of failure, making hacking significantly more difficult.

“We provide best-in-class security, compliance solutions, and unparalleled expertise in digital asset management. We are deeply honoured by this responsibility and recognise the significance it holds,” Sumit Gupta, Co-founder of CoinDCX said in the prepared statement.

The ED’s partnership with CoinDCX follows a recent series of search operations across Delhi, Jaipur, and Mumbai, investigating a large-scale crypto fraud involving the conversion of assets worth approximately Rs. 600 crore. As part of the probe, the agency seized Rs. 2.18 crore from Chirag Tomar, the alleged mastermind behind the scam.

In mid-February, the ED seized its largest-ever cryptocurrency haul worth Rs. 1,646 crore during a “mega” money laundering probe into a fraudulent investment scheme.

As of now, the ED has not revealed the exact amount of crypto to be placed under CoinDCX’s oversight or the specific case these funds are linked to.

In September 2024, Binance claimed that it worked with the ED to crack down on the Fiewin gaming scam that had drained $47.6 million (roughly Rs. 400 crore) from its users. As part of this probe, Binance’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) said it provided crucial intelligence that was key in tracing the funds and exposing the fraud network.

The ED previously kept seized funds in wallets managed by ZebPay and WazirX.