India Searches 3 Sites Linked to CoinDCX and Delta Exchange in Foreign Exchange Probe

Key Facts

India’s Enforcement Directorate searched 3 sites in Bengaluru on November 4 and 5 as part of an investigation into suspected unauthorized cross-border transactions involving cryptocurrency derivatives and real-world asset tokens. The agency said the sites are linked to Neblio Technologies, which operates CoinDCX, and Excelium Technologies, which operates Delta Exchange India. The searches were conducted under Section 37 of India’s Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999. The move puts trading flows through both platforms at the center of an investigation focused on the execution of their products through crypto platforms outside India. The directorate estimated the value of CoinDCX’s cross-border spot trades at thousands of crores of rupees.

The directorate said its preliminary inquiries indicated that trading products on both platforms were executed through overseas crypto platforms, including Binance, KuCoin, Gate.io and Bybit, using stablecoins such as USDT. According to the agency’s allegation, CoinDCX customers’ rupee deposits were converted into USDT and then sent to overseas platforms to execute spot trades. It added that the transfers went through accounts in the name of an entity based in Costa Rica, which it described as a shell entity. It said the spot trades were executed directly through application programming interfaces. It estimated the value of these transactions at thousands of crores of rupees, without specifying a more precise figure in the report.

The investigation, according to the directorate, also covered CoinDCX’s futures and options execution mechanism. It said the platform opened offsetting positions on overseas platforms against customers’ trades, matching those trades on a 1:1 basis. When a customer closes a position, the corresponding positions are closed and settled outside India, the agency said. This means, in the directorate’s account, that execution of these products involved more than recording trades on the Indian platform: it also involved positions on overseas platforms and settlements outside the country. The agency is also examining trading in tokenized foreign stocks, including shares of Apple, Google and Tesla.

The directorate said trading in tokenized foreign stocks in fact involved derivatives positions on the Hyperliquid platform, rather than purchases of the underlying shares. Part of the investigation therefore focuses on the nature of the exposure traders received and the link between the products as advertised and the trades the agency says were executed abroad. The report did not provide details on the number of users or trading volume associated with these tokens. It also did not state a final outcome of the investigation or a decision on proven violations. These remain allegations and preliminary investigative findings attributed to the Enforcement Directorate.

Regarding Delta Exchange India, the directorate said a large share of futures, options and tokenized-stock trading passed through CoinDCX. It added that hundreds of crores of rupees were transferred from Delta Exchange India to affiliates overseas, and that these transfers are under investigation. The report did not specify when the transfers took place or which affiliates were involved. The allegations link trading routes through both platforms to cross-border financial transfers, which the agency continues to examine under the Foreign Exchange Management Act. The report did not say that final charges had been brought against either company.

CoinDCX said Enforcement Directorate officials visited its Bengaluru office as part of a “routine inquiry,” and that the company cooperated and provided the requested information and assistance. An earlier company statement, dated July 23, 2025, addressed a security incident that it said affected one internal operational wallet used to manage liquidity and did not affect customer wallets. The company said at the time that it would cover the losses from treasury reserves. It also said trading, Indian rupee deposits and withdrawals continued to operate throughout the incident. It said it was working with cybersecurity experts, investigative agencies and law enforcement authorities to investigate the incident and trace the funds.