Chilean regulator uncovers $84 million in suspicious crypto flows! What happened at Plusspay?

The road to registration cancellation

On June 26, Chile’s Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (CMF) announced it had formally rescinded the registration of Inversiones Plusservice SpA, the company behind Plusspay. This ruling effectively prevents the platform from conducting business in Chile and obligates the return of client deposits. As one of the country’s leading financial supervisors, the CMF’s actions carry significant regulatory weight.

Plusspay had positioned itself as a regulated financial services provider in Chile. However, authorities clarified that the company possessed only a preliminary registration, not a full operational license. Under Chilean law, fintech firms must first register, then subsequently obtain explicit authorization to offer services.

The CMF emphasized that while Plusspay had completed the initial registration phase, it falsely promoted itself as a fully regulated platform before receiving the required secondary approval.

Suspicious fund flows spark investigation

Investigators found that Plusspay converted client funds deposited in Chilean pesos primarily into stablecoins such as Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC). Prosecutors state that these assets were then funneled to offshore wallets and bank accounts, a transfer pattern that triggered red flags among authorities.

Regulators estimate the volume of suspicious transactions in this network to exceed $84 million. There are allegations that the capital involved may originate from illicit operations linked to the Venezuela-based crime syndicate Tren de Aragua. In 2024, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control officially classified Tren de Aragua as a global criminal organization.

Mini glossary: A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency usually pegged to an underlying asset such as the US dollar. USDT and USDC are among the most widely used stablecoins worldwide.

The South Metropolitan Regional Prosecutor’s Office issued a warrant for the arrest of 38-year-old Venezuelan national Jose Manuel Rios Guaido, founder of the platform. Prosecutors allege that Rios Guaido used a range of shell companies operating under the brand “Bex” to obscure the flow of funds within Chile’s banking system. Investigators also discovered a company with the same address registered in Florida.

Regulators have ordered Plusspay to stop accepting new customers, but it may continue processing withdrawals for current clients to ensure their funds are returned.

Ongoing licensing challenges and regulatory tightening

Plusspay was founded in 2021 and began providing crypto custody and brokerage services in 2023. Early in 2024, the company completed the registration process but launched marketing activities before securing the required secondary authorization.

The CMF warns that platforms operating without full authorization often misrepresent themselves as fully licensed. While the regulator cannot directly shutter these companies, it may report violations to prosecutors—leading to actions such as registration cancellation, as seen in this case.

The regulator is now reviewing all firms listed in the fintech registry to ensure they meet updated obligations. Some companies, aside from Plusspay, have also been flagged for failing to fulfill revised information requirements. Under Chile’s Fintech Law, running operations without proper authorization constitutes a serious breach; if fraud is proven, legal consequences can escalate dramatically.