IRB: Cryptocurrency not regulated but traders still subject to Malaysian income tax law

FILE PHOTO: A Bitcoin logo is seen on a cryptocurrency ATM in Santa Monica, California, U.S., January 4, 2018. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

The Inland Revenue Board’s (IRB) investigation into London based cryptocurrency exchanger Luno is not a phishing exercise for information on cryptocurrency traders, says its chief executive officer Datuk Seri Sabin Samitah.

Responding to a query on why the Luno bank account in Malaysia was frozen by IRB, he said the audit was to determine whether the cryptocurrency company has complied with the statutory requirement under the Income Tax Act 1967 and to ascertain if the business is involved in money laundering activities.