Crypto & Blockchain Lawyer

Key laws & sections

• Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 — March 2023 VDA notification

  Brings virtual digital asset transactions involving exchange, transfer, custody and offering into the PMLA framework as “reporting entities” — and creates ED jurisdiction over crypto matters.

• Income Tax Act — Sections 115BBH & 194S

  30% flat tax on VDA income, 1% TDS on transfer above thresholds. The undisputed tax-side basis on which most crypto investigations now begin.

• Information Technology Act, 2000 — Sections 43, 66, 66D

  Used in fraud, unauthorised access and cheating-by-personation — the everyday IT Act sections invoked in crypto-fraud FIRs.

• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita — Sections 318, 316, 336

  Cheating, criminal breach of trust and forgery — layered with IT Act sections in well-drafted crypto-fraud FIRs.

• BNSS, 2023 — Section 91 & FIU-IND directions

  Section 91 BNSS for account freezes; FIU-IND directions for VDA service providers on KYC, suspicious-transaction reporting and travel-rule compliance.

How we run the matter

1. 1
   On-chain triage

   First step in any crypto loss is on-chain — we pull the wallet trace, map deposit and withdrawal addresses, identify the receiving exchange (Binance, OKX, Bybit etc.) and prepare the address-attribution evidence pack before any FIR.

2. 2
   Cyber-cell FIR + exchange KYT

   FIR at the cyber thana with on-chain trace, immediate exchange KYT request through the IO under MLAT / direct LE channels, and parallel I4C / 1930 reporting where the loss involves INR rails.

3. 3
   P2P merchant defreeze

   Where a P2P merchant’s account is chained-frozen on a downstream complaint, we file Section 91 BNSS representation with full counterparty KYC, exchange order screenshots and bank statements proving legitimate trade.

4. 4
   ED summons defence

   For Section 50 PMLA summons in crypto-MLM matters, we attend with the client, regulate disclosures to relevant facts, and where the summons is mala fide or the predicate offence is weak, move the High Court under Section 528 BNSS.

5. 5
   Recovery & litigation

   Where funds have been traced to an Indian exchange or P2P chain, we file civil suit / Section 9 arbitration application alongside the criminal track. Realistic recovery rates depend on speed: the first 72 hours decide most outcomes.

Why Shield for this

• On-chain forensic literacy. We work with chain-analysis partners on a per-matter basis and read the trace ourselves — IO conversations go better when we can explain how the deposit address maps to the exchange’s hot wallet.
• P2P merchant defence at scale. A recent batch of USDT-INR P2P merchant matters — three traders whose current accounts were chain-frozen on Andhra and Telangana cyber cell holds; all three released through Section 91 BNSS representations within 18–25 days with full counterparty KYC.
• ED-track experience. Section 50 PMLA summons in a crypto-MLM matter — accompanied client through three depositions, regulated disclosures to scheduled-offence relevance, and obtained High Court protection from arrest pending further investigation.
• Realistic recovery counsel. We don’t promise full recovery on a wallet-to-mixer trace. We tell clients the truth — what the trace can and cannot do, and what the realistic settlement / partial-recovery zone looks like.

Questions clients ask first