Terming cryptocurrencies as Ponzi schemes, Anurag Agarwal, joint secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, on Friday said such virtual currencies should be banned.

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He said official indecision so far on the virtual currency has harmed the investors.

"When it comes to investor protection, as IEPF (Investor Education and Protection Fund) authority, we have to take a stand against the Ponzi schemes. We are taking a stand and we think cryptocurrency is a Ponzi scheme and it should be banned," said Agarwal, who is also the CEO of IEPF.

"This is the view of the IEPF authority and we want the government to take a stand on it. By not taking a decision, we are harming the investors. We have to move very swiftly. This is the view of IEPF authority," he added.

Although both the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have warned against the use of the virtual currency time and again, both RBI and the Centre are yet to come up with definite guidelines on the same.

IEPF is a body under the corporate affairs ministry set up with an aim to facilitate refund of shares, unclaimed dividends and matured debentures to investors and promote awareness among them.

The government had last year also formed a panel headed by finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg to finalise a report on draft regulations on cryptocurrencies, but the report is yet to be finalised and made public.

In 2017, the finance ministry said that virtual currencies are neither currencies nor coins and are not authorised by the RBI and the government as a medium of exchange and they do not have any regulatory permission or protection in India.

The finance ministry had warned of Ponzi scheme like risks in cryptocurrencies.

First Published:Apr 27, 2019 2:13 PM IST