Regulate cryptocurrency to curb illegal transaction: RBI to SC
New Delhi, July 20 : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday told the Supreme Court that it is necessary to regulate the Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to check illegal transactions which will impact the international flow of funds.
The RBI told the bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud that its stand is of extreme caution as it has severe policy implications.
Appearing for the RBI, senior counsel Shyam Divan said they have a particular stand and other departments may have other positions.
Divan told the court that a committee is looking into the issue and as such RBI will require three weeks time to respond to various petitions seeking such regulations.
The senior counsel was referring to an interdisciplinary committee headed by secretary of economic affairs Subhash Garg that was set-up in 2017 to examine virtual currencies and recommend the regulatory framework for crypto currencies.
The Court was hearing a plea against RBI circular banning bank dealings in cryptocurrencies.
The top court slated the next hearing for September 11 as senior counsel Gopal Subramanium told the Court that matter is serious and needed to be heard and decided at the earliest.
Subramaium said, "In today's tech world, transactions are done online and you need banks for that" and that should concern the government.
Subramanium described as "baseless" the RBI circular that mandated its regulated entities including banks to withdraw support for crypto urrency exchanges and other businesses dealing with virtual currencies.
In a bid to protect consumers and curb money laundering and other financial irregularities, the RBI had, on April 5, barred all its regulated entities, including banks, from dealing in virtual currencies like bitcoins, following its earlier multiple warnings on their risks.
Regulated entities already providing services to any individual or business dealing in digital currencies had been given three months to exit the relationship.
Cryptocurrency trade in rupees stopped on July 6 , while exchanges or cryptocurrency companies will now be unable to avail loans or hold bank accounts.
The RBI statement in April had said: "We have now decided to fence RBI-regulated entities from the risk of dealing with entities associated with virtual currencies. They are required to stop having a business relationship with entities dealing with virtual currencies forthwith, and unwind the existing relationship within three months.
"Virtual currencies, also variously referred to as cryptocurrencies and crypto assets, raise concerns of consumer protection, market integrity and money laundering, among others."
The RBI, however, also said it is exploring a "fiat digital currency" issued by the Central bank.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Explosion near CRPF School in Delhi caused by lit cigarette butts: Report
New Delhi: The investigation team that probed the explosion that took place outside the CRPF School in the Prashant Vihar area of the city on October 20 morning has reportedly not found any terror force behind the blast.
The investigation team, consisting of Delhi Police and staff members from central agencies, has stated in its report that cigarette butts thrown by a local resident might have come in contact with industrial waste and have caused the explosion. Circumstantial evidence does not show the incident to have a terror angle to it, reports The Indian Express.
The Delhi Police, the city bomb squad and the fire brigade had rushed to the spot following the explosion, which was initially believed to have been caused by a crude bomb. The forensic experts who inspected the spot hinted at the presence of potassium chlorate, hydrogen peroxide and some electrical wires there. The school wall had been damaged and the windows of a car nearby had shattered in the explosion.
The investigation team scanned the CCTV camera footage and zeroed in on around 10 people questioned. A senior police officer said that a North Delhi-based businessman from Prashant Vihar was found to be present at the spot around five minutes before the explosion, as he had come there on Sunday morning to walk his dog. The CCTV footage showed him smoking and, after questioning him, the team concluded that he had left lit cigarette butts before leaving the spot, the officer added.
The spot where the explosion took place is learned to have been usually used for dumping garbage and also has a public urinal.
An officer has said that the Delhi Police had consulted forensic and technical experts of the National Security Guard regarding the things found on the explosion site but are yet to get the report. The officer added that they have found no detonator so far.
