ED Searches Mudrex and Instadapp Over Rs 5,000 Crore in Cross-Border Crypto Transfers

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Bengaluru Zonal Office, searched premises in Bengaluru and Madhya Pradesh on 27 October 2026 under Section 37 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999, over unauthorised cross-border financial transactions using cryptocurrency, especially stablecoins, worth more than Rs 5,000 crore.

ED announced the searches on 29 October.

Mudrex and Saber.money

The investigation began with complaints of large-scale FEMA violations by Bengaluru-based RPFAS Technologies Private Limited, which operates the platforms Mudrex and Saber.money.

ED said the company ran an unauthorised cross-border payment system using stablecoins such as USDT and USDC, bypassing authorised banking channels, and advertised instant money transfer across borders without RBI authorisation.

The platforms offered on-ramp and off-ramp services, converting rupees and other currencies into crypto and back.

Saber.money's website markets itself as stablecoin payment infrastructure for India and South East Asia.

According to ED, the modus operandi was:

• A user registers on the platform.
• Money is deposited into the company's bank account.
• The money buys virtual digital assets, mainly stablecoins such as USDT.
• The assets are sold on Indian crypto exchanges and the proceeds remitted to the receiver.

ED said the company did not comply with RBI rules on inward and outward remittances.

It operated through related entities registered abroad but controlled from India, used large OTC deals and shell entities incorporated in Canada, Lithuania and the USA, and held large crypto assets on foreign platforms such as Binance and Bybit.

Preliminary findings put the FEMA contravention at more than Rs 4,600 crore.

Instadapp and Fluid

ED also searched two premises in Bengaluru and one in Madhya Pradesh linked to Instadapp, a decentralised finance (DeFi) protocol on Ethereum that now operates largely as Fluid.

Though presented as run by US-registered Instadapp Labs LLC, ED said it is managed from India by its founders, including Sowmay Jain.

ED said protocol revenue and investor funds were received as stablecoins in multi-signature wallets of Interop Labs Ltd (British Virgin Islands) controlled from India.

The stablecoins were sold on Independent Reserve and QCP Capital in Singapore, and the proceeds credited to Singapore accounts of Upsurge Labs and Bhindi Labs.

The money then reached India as payments for software development and consultancy, which ED called bogus.

Singapore prepaid cards were used for Indian expenses, and funds were moved to the founders' Dubai bank accounts.

The searches found that the shell entities in Delaware, the British Virgin Islands, Singapore and Dubai had no physical office or staff.

Preliminary findings put the contravention at about USD 40 million.

Investigation is ongoing.