New Delhi, Oct. 30 -- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said it had conducted searches in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh as part of an investigation into alleged foreign exchange violations involving cross-border cryptocurrency transfers worth more than Rs.4,900 crore.

The searches were carried out on October 26 under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The operation covered three premises in Bengaluru and one in Madhya Pradesh, the federal agency said in a statement.

"Preliminary findings during the investigation revealed contravention of FEMA through unauthorised cross-border money transfer, unauthorised crypto balances in foreign platforms amounting to more than Rs.4600 crore," the statement said.

According to the E...