Subhash Chandra Garg heads Cryptocurrency panel that proposes ban on private digital currencies

The Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) set up to look into the legality of cryptocurrencies and blockchain has recently submitted its report to the Finance Ministry and recommended that private cryptocurrencies be banned completely in India. It has also drafted a law, the ‘Banning of Cryptocurrency & Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019’, which mandates a fine and imprisonment of up to 10 years for offences. The committee was formed under the Chairmanship of Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg. The draft law says that anybody who mines, generates, holds, sells, deals in; transfers, disposes of or issues cryptocurrencies with will face a fine and/or jail time of between 1 and 10 years. The fine has been set at the either three times the loss or harm caused by a person, or three times the gain made by the person, whichever is higher.