An investigation ongoing since 2024 has uncovered a money laundering gang of 18 members that used multiple bank accounts, fake companies, and cryptocurrency transfers to launder illegal proceeds from the Venezuelan "Terrán de Aragua" gang.
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Key Takeaways
- Key points:
- Chile has arrested 18 suspects involved in an $88 million cryptocurrency money laundering network directly linked to the "Trén de Arágua" criminal gang.
- Since 2019, Juan Carlos Pérez Asensio has been using Santander Bank to open multiple accounts, seriously threatening bank security.
- Hector Barros froze 140 accounts and seized $300,000, prosecuting 18 suspects to weaken the group's assets.
Chile dismantled an $88 million cryptocurrency money laundering syndicate linked to the "Trande Aragua" gang
A two-year investigation ultimately led to the arrest of 18 suspects who laundered illegal proceeds of the Venezuelan "Araugua Train" criminal gang in Chile through a money laundering scheme involving crypto assets.
This operation, carried out simultaneously by Chilean police and the Southern Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday across three regions of the country, exposed a complex network composed of bank accounts, fake companies, and cryptocurrency transfers.
Juan Carlos Pérez Asensio, a Venezuelan national, has served as Head of Asset Recovery at Banco Santander since 2019, playing a key role in providing the group with the tools needed for effective operations.
Local reports indicate that Pérez Asensio opened multiple bank accounts for the gang, enabling it to handle large sums of money sourced from drug trafficking, extortion, prostitution, and kidnapping activities.
Prosecutor Hector Barros, who is in charge of the case, stated that the gang laundered over $88 million and called it "one of the largest money laundering cases involving the 'Aragua Train' gang in our country to date." "I think this is the first time we've hit their sore spot: their assets," he added.
Barros specifically explained that these funds "flow out of our country through cryptocurrency companies and flow to other countries." During this operation, more than 140 bank accounts were frozen, and $300,000 was seized from the gang.
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This operation followed another high-profile operation in July, when Chilean authorities also dismantled a group called "Tren del Mar." At that time, a total of 52 people were arrested for laundering approximately $13.5 million through bank accounts and cryptocurrencies, transferring these funds to Venezuela, Colombia, the United States, Paraguay, Mexico, Spain, and Argentina.
"Aragua Train" is an international criminal syndicate originating from Venezuela and was added to the sanctions list by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in 2024. The office noted that the group "infiltrated the local criminal economy in South America, established a transnational financial operation network, laundered money through cryptocurrency, and established ties with the U.S.-sanctioned 'Capital First Command' (PCC)."