The Numbers You Need to Know First
Before diving into individual cases, the macro picture tells the story:
₹4,189.89 crore — Total proceeds of crime attached by the Enforcement Directorate in crypto-related PMLA cases, as reported to Parliament in December 2025
₹888.82 crore — Undisclosed income from VDA transactions detected by CBDT through search and seizure operations
44,057 — Number of notices sent by CBDT to taxpayers who traded in VDAs but did not report gains in their ITR
₹824.14 crore — Total GST evasion booked against 17 cryptocurrency exchanges
29 — Number of arrests made by the ED in crypto-related cases
812 — Chargesheets filed by the ED in 2025–26, with a reported 94% conviction rate across all PMLA cases
These are not abstract figures. They represent a legal system that has gotten serious about crypto enforcement.
The GST Cases: Exchanges in the Dock
Nest Services Ltd (Binance India) — ₹722.43 Crore
The largest single GST evasion case in Indian crypto history involves Nest Services Ltd, the Indian arm of the Binance Group. GST authorities booked a ₹722.43 crore case against the entity, as disclosed to Parliament in December 2024. The case centres on whether transaction fees charged by the exchange attract GST and whether the exchange had been collecting and remitting the tax correctly.
This case is significant not just for its size but for what it signals: the government views exchange fees as a taxable service, and it intends to collect GST on them retroactively.
Status: Under investigation/adjudication. No final order as of June 2026.
WazirX (Zanmai Labs) — ₹40.51 Crore
Central GST formations detected a ₹40.51 crore GST evasion case against Zanmai Labs, the operator of WazirX. This comes on top of WazirX's existing legal troubles following the July 2024 hack that resulted in approximately $234.9 million in user funds being stolen. The exchange is currently under restructuring proceedings in Singapore, with WazirX's parent Zettai Pte Ltd filing for judicial restructuring to address creditor claims.
Status: GST case under adjudication. Restructuring proceedings ongoing in Singapore.
CoinDCX — ₹16.84 Crore
India's largest domestic exchange was booked for ₹16.84 crore in GST evasion. CoinDCX has not publicly commented in detail on the specific allegations.
Status: Under investigation.
CoinSwitch Kuber — ₹14.13 Crore
CoinSwitch Kuber faced a GST evasion case of ₹14.13 crore. The exchange, which rebranded to CoinSwitch, has been cooperating with authorities.
Status: Under investigation.
The broader pattern: In total, 17 cryptocurrency exchanges have been booked for GST evasion amounting to ₹824.14 crore. The common thread is the dispute over how GST applies to trading fees, spread income, and token listings. The lack of clear GST guidance for crypto when these fees were charged means exchanges may have genuinely miscalculated — but that is unlikely to be a complete defence.
ED / PMLA Cases: The Money Laundering Angle
OctaFX — ₹2,681 Crore Attached
The biggest crypto attachment by the ED in recent memory. In October 2025, the ED attached approximately ₹2,385 crore in crypto assets linked to OctaFX, an illegal forex trading platform. This brought the total attached amount in the OctaFX case to over ₹2,681 crore, which also includes immovable properties and a luxury yacht owned by the alleged mastermind, Pavel Prozorov.
OctaFX operated as an illegal forex trading platform targeting Indian retail investors with promises of high returns. The ED traced the proceeds through multiple crypto wallets across jurisdictions. This case is important because it demonstrates that the ED now has meaningful blockchain forensics capability — they can trace crypto across wallets and exchanges.
Status: Provisional attachment confirmed. Criminal prosecution ongoing.
HPZ Token — Cross-City Raids
The ED conducted search operations across Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Salem in connection with the HPZ token case — an app-based crypto token used in a multi-level marketing scheme. The case was originally registered based on an FIR by the Cyber Crime Police Station in Kohima, Nagaland. The ₹2,200 crore HPZ scam has expanded to reveal cross-border links, shell firms, and payment gateways allegedly used to route illicit funds.
Status: Investigation ongoing. Multiple arrests made.
GainBitcoin / Amit Bhardwaj — Ongoing Legacy Case
One of India's earliest major crypto fraud prosecutions. Founder Amit Bhardwaj ran an alleged Bitcoin Ponzi scheme that cheated approximately 8,000 investors of around ₹2,000 crore, promising 10% monthly returns. Bhardwaj was arrested in 2018. The PMLA case has been winding through courts for years and remains one of the most complex crypto prosecutions in Indian legal history.
Status: Trial ongoing.
CBDT / Income Tax: The Silent Crackdown
While the ED's work makes headlines, the Central Board of Direct Taxes has been running a quieter but arguably more far-reaching enforcement campaign.
The CBDT has sent 44,057 notices to individual taxpayers who traded in Virtual Digital Assets but did not disclose these gains in Schedule VDA of their ITR. The agency obtained this data primarily from exchange-reported TDS (Form 26AS) — every 1% TDS deduction becomes a data point for the tax department.
In search and seizure operations, the CBDT has detected undisclosed VDA income of ₹888.82 crore.
What this means for you: If you traded on any FIU-registered exchange in India, the CBDT almost certainly has a record of your transactions via TDS data. If you haven't filed Schedule VDA in your ITR, you are at risk of receiving a notice. The cure is straightforward: file a revised return.
The Thane Fraud Case: What's Happening at the Ground Level
Beyond the big institutional cases, local police forces across India are registering more crypto fraud FIRs than ever. In May 2026, police in Thane registered a case against a 44-year-old man for allegedly cheating seven investors of ₹1.61 crore through a fake crypto investment scheme between 2023 and 2025.
This is one of hundreds of similar cases filed annually. The ED Director himself noted at the 70th ED Day event that crypto frauds have become one of the agency's key focus areas, alongside terror financing and narcotics.
The ED's Expanding Toolkit
The ED Director Rahul Navin's statement at the 70th ED Day deserves attention. He described crypto frauds as a strategic focus area and noted the agency has significantly expanded its use of blockchain analysis and financial intelligence to track crypto-linked transactions. The ED filed 812 chargesheets and 155 supplementary chargesheets in 2025–26 — nearly double the previous comparable period.
At the same time, around 2,400 money laundering cases remain pending before courts. The pace of prosecution is accelerating, but the judicial backlog remains substantial.
What Legitimate Investors Should Take From This
1. The enforcement is targeting fraud and evasion, not legitimate investing. The vast majority of cases involve scams, Ponzi schemes, or exchanges that evaded tax. Retail investors who trade on registered exchanges, declare their income, and pay their taxes have little to fear from the ED or CBDT.
2. TDS is your paper trail — use it to your advantage. Every TDS deduction is recorded in your Form 26AS. Download your annual TDS certificate from your exchange and reconcile it with your ITR. Don't let unreported transactions accumulate.
3. Bank account freezes happen — and they're preventable. Many P2P users have had their bank accounts flagged by banks due to suspicious transaction patterns. This is not an ED freeze — it's a bank-level compliance flag. It can usually be resolved by visiting your branch with documentation of the crypto transaction. Using registered, FIU-compliant exchanges significantly reduces this risk.
4. The GST dispute on exchange fees is not your liability. If you are a user of these exchanges, the GST cases are between the exchange and the government. Your trading activity does not expose you to GST liability (unless you are operating as a professional trader with significant volumes, in which case consult a CA).
5. Keep records. Transaction history, wallet addresses, purchase invoices — maintain records for at least seven years. If you are ever asked to explain the source of crypto holdings, a clean paper trail is your best defence.