Buda and CryptoMKT initiate actions against banks before Chile's Free Competition Tribunal

The hostilities between the Chilean banks and the cryptoactive exchange houses of the country continue. This time two of the affected platforms, Crypto Market and Buda.com, reported their decision to go to the Court of Defense of Free Competition (TDLC). For this, they hired the specialist free competition and consumer lawyer, Mario Bravo, from the law firm Braco y Cía.

"We are going to sue the TDLC to all the banks that denied or hindered the opening of current accounts to these companies and to those who, having opened them, closed them. Here are the majority of the banks in the square, "stated Mario Bravo.

Both CryptoMKT and Buda.com would have already introduced protection resources and orders not to innovate before the Court of Appeals of Santiago, with a view to preventing the closure of bank accounts by Scotiabank and Itaú Corpbanca. Although the protection remedies were received, the orders not to innovate did not, which is why both companies filed an appeal for reconsideration so that the court could reconsider its ruling.

The argument of the complaint is the abuse of collective ownership by banks, limiting the participation of these companies in the financial market, closing or preventing the opening of bank accounts. Bravo is an expert in the field of free competition and consumers, and assured local media that "there has been an abusive exploitation of a situation of economic dependence".

Banks are losing extremely high commissions for purchases abroad, under circumstances that with the cryptocurrency system the commissions are negligible. In addition, our represented companies participate in international trade to people who can not do it, because they are not banked.

However, banks have argued that they have the power to close client accounts in case the explanation of their movements does not satisfy the institution. This was the opinion of the general manager of Scotiabank, Francisco Sardón, who assured that this decision is the result of a routine check where they found anomalies in the number of transactions and the amounts, a cause of unilateral termination of the contract: "when there is such a situation, banks ask what is due, and if that answer is not to the satisfaction of the bank, it is empowered to close the account, "he said.

For Bravo, it is an abuse of collective ownership by banks, emphasizing that they have "no authority" to "do justice" in the southern country. "That's what the courts of justice, the oversight bodies, the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank are for," he said.

Bravo supports its arguments by sharing the opinion of the Financial Stability Board of Chile, which ruled in recent days stating that cryptocurrencies do not represent any risk to its economy. However, the BancoEstado has insisted that it will not work for the companies until there is a regulatory recognition of the activity, recognition that is already being evaluated by the government.

Recall that in Chile there is currently a major struggle between banks and exchange houses. Several banks in the country decided to close the accounts from which several of these exchanges worked with the peso exchange, arguing that the activity is not regulated or that the bank simply does not work with companies related to the cryptocurrency business.