For any financial crime to prosper, there has to be a means of benefitting from the crime. This means that the proceeds of the crime should be converted into legit wealth of the criminal. This is precisely what we call as “Money Laundering”.
Normally we expect that the Government of the day, the Central Bank and the Courts of the Country will do everything under their control to prevent “Money laundering” so that financial crimes are discouraged.
Unfortunately, in India our system does everything to make corruption easy.
And in this exercise the regulators, the Government and the Courts are all happy shifting the blame to another if the decision is difficult.
This tendency is clearly visible in the way the Bitcoin issue is being handled in India. It is no surprise that Bitcoin users and Bitcoin business entities want Bitcoin to be made a legal tender so that it neither becomes a crime to use them or to deal with them. For some time RBI resisted this but Supreme Court came to the assistance of the Bitcoin industry and gave a “Deemed Acceptance” of Indian Banks opening and operating bank accounts for the purpose of trading in Bitcoins and other crypto currencies.
The moment Supreme Court came to the assistance of the Bitcoin Exchanges, the fact that Bitcoin is a currency of the Criminals and Currency best suited for receiving and handing over large value bribes became more relevant than ever before.
Today an article “India’s Banks Are Once More Serving Crypto Traders and Exchanges” indicates the mindset of the industry and how they are slowly putting pressure on Banks to open out to maintaining the accounts for Bitcoin exchanges.
I would like to challenge these Banks….
–“how do Banks consider the opening and operating a bank account for a Crypto Currency exchange which allows buying and selling of Bitcoins and crypto currencies which are not “Currencies” but are “Commodities” and they are subject to the legal principle of transfer of property namely “No body shall transfer a title free from the defects of the transferor’s title” (unless the transferee is a holder in due course of a negotiable instrument” as not “Money Laundering”.
If Banks become bankers to money launderers where is their obligation to the “Prevention of Money Laundering Act”?.
It is perhaps unfair to blame only the Banks because this situation has arisen solely because of the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice of India could have reviewed the subject order and corrected the perception of the honest public of India that Supreme Court is supporting Bitcoin. But he is perhaps busy with other issues.
There was a time when the supreme Court was asking the Government of India what measures they are taking for prevention of corruption and black money. But now the Supreme Court of 2020 is seen actually as a facilitator of digital black money in the form of Bitcoins.
The Government is also not concerned because if “Bribing” becomes easy, the Government employees are the most happy persons because a large part of the market share of corruption predominantly belongs to the Government employees.
What is left is for all of us is to think of conducting a training to public on how to buy bitcoins and use it for paying bribes. Presently only the digital savvy persons and receiving large amount of bribes are perhaps using bitcoins. It is time that we let the small time people such as clerks in Government offices and traffic cops to also be conversant with the use of Bitcoins and how to collect their bribes with Satoshis. (1 satoshi is 1/100,000,000 of 1 bitcoin and 1 satoshi is approximately equal to 1.3 paise. ). It would be better if the Government of India declares a new currency term 100 satoshis equal to 1 Satoshi rupee so that it becomes easy for the public to give and receive bribes.
Perhaps the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of IT would also be able to provide some financial incentives to people who can conduct outreach programs for conducting such training programs.
May be it is also time for the PMO to consider that in the next Mann Ki Baat, Mr Modi can speak of opening out our economy by merging the Bitcoin as part of our currency system so that we become a part of a global digital currency system.
Any such move would not be opposed by the opposition parties nor the Supreme Court because every body is happy. Hence no Bharat Bundhs and no Delhi blockade. In fact the Urban Naxalites may be persuaded to withdraw from the farmer’s agitation if the incentive of Bitcoin legalization is offered.
Naavi
What a straight shot? Nobody can be more brutal and more honest or straightforward than this. I wonder how and why the government is still keeping quiet.