{"investigation":{"slug":"roberto-zibert","entity_name":"Roberto Zibert","trust_score":8,"severity_base":null,"score_modifier":0,"confidence":0.62,"status":"published","content_type":"investigation","summary":"Roberto Zibert is a Chilean entrepreneur and co-founder and former general manager of Orionx, a Tether-backed cryptocurrency exchange based in Chile that permanently shut down in September 2026 after a forensic audit found a custody gap of more than $6 million to $7 million in customer Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Polygon (POL) holdings. Orionx itself filed a criminal complaint naming Zibert and fellow co-founder Joaquín Díaz as suspects in the alleged diversion of client assets between 2018 and 2021, an accusation both men have categorically denied. No court has yet reached a verdict, and the case remains under active investigation by Chilean prosecutors.","sections":[{"content":"On September 2, 2026, Orionx filed a criminal complaint (querella) with Chilean prosecutors against two of its own co-founders, former general manager Roberto Zibert and former technology manager Joaquín Díaz, alleging the crime of 'disloyal administration' (administración desleal) in connection with a shortfall in customer custodial assets. The complaint alleges that between 2018 and 2021, Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Polygon (POL) belonging to customers were transferred out of company-controlled wallets to accounts and platforms outside Orionx's custody. According to reporting on the complaint, an account associated with Díaz allegedly received more than $1.5 million across 14 transfers on the account 'Binance Joaco,' while a separate wallet associated with a 'Luis Zibert/Incremental' account allegedly received 187 ETH and more than $4.3 million in USDT and USDC stablecoins; the complaint also references 79 BTC allegedly moved through an account linked to Zibert on the Celsius platform. A Deloitte forensic audit commissioned by Orionx put the total documented loss at approximately $6.066 million across four assets (BTC, ETH, XRP, POL), a figure that is sometimes reported in the press as 'more than $7 million.' Zibert and Díaz have categorically denied the allegations, stating in a message sent directly to Orionx customers: 'We categorically reject the charges against us... We have never acted against our clients' interests... To date there is no certainty or clarity about the company's accounting discrepancy.' As of this writing, the matter is an active criminal investigation with no judicial finding of guilt against Zibert.","heading":"Criminal complaint filed by Orionx against Zibert","sources":[{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/orionx-shut-down-7-million-move-outside-wallets","name":"Cointelegraph — Tether-Backed Orionx Shuts Down After $7M Custody Gap","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.latercera.com/pulso/noticia/las-operaciones-que-llevaron-al-abrupto-cierre-de-la-plataforma-de-criptomonedas-orionx/","name":"La Tercera — Las operaciones que llevaron al abrupto cierre de la plataforma de criptomonedas OrionX","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.latercera.com/pulso/noticia/cierra-plataforma-de-criptomonedas-orionx-y-acusa-a-exsocios-de-irregularidades-por-us7-millones/","name":"La Tercera — Cierra plataforma de criptomonedas OrionX y acusa a exsocios de irregularidades por US$7 millones","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.lacuarta.com/chile/noticia/que-pasa-con-orionx-fundadores-acusados-rechazan-categoricamente-los-cargos-en-su-contra/","name":"La Cuarta — ¿Qué pasa con OrionX?: Fundadores acusados rechazan 'categóricamente' los cargos en su contra","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.df.cl/mercados/bolsa-monedas/cierre-de-orionx-suma-nueva-querella-criminal-contra-sus-exsocios-y","name":"Diario Financiero — Cierre de Orionx suma nueva querella criminal contra sus exsocios y tensiona a la industria cripto","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"According to Chilean press reporting, Orionx co-founder Joel Vainstein took over as the company's general manager/CEO in January 2025 amid an internal push to comply with Chile's Fintech Law, and Thomas Mac Millan was named chief operating officer in March 2025. On August 27, 2025, Mac Millan allegedly detected a significant mismatch between customer balances recorded in Orionx's internal systems and the assets actually held in company-controlled custody wallets. An internal ad hoc committee investigation followed, reportedly concluding around November 14, 2025, after which Orionx commissioned an external forensic audit from Deloitte that compared internal ledgers against on-chain blockchain data. That audit confirmed the mismatch and identified numerous transactions with 'inexistent or altered' identifiers, according to reporting on the case. The roughly year-long gap between initial detection (August 2025) and the public disclosure and criminal complaint (September 2026) has not been fully explained in public reporting.","heading":"Discovery of the custody gap and internal investigation","sources":[{"url":"https://www.latercera.com/pulso/noticia/las-operaciones-que-llevaron-al-abrupto-cierre-de-la-plataforma-de-criptomonedas-orionx/","name":"La Tercera — Las operaciones que llevaron al abrupto cierre de la plataforma de criptomonedas OrionX","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.latercera.com/pulso/noticia/quien-es-la-fiscal-detras-de-caso-orionx-y-las-diligencias-pendientes-que-encomendo-la-empresa/","name":"La Tercera — Quién es la fiscal detrás de caso OrionX y las diligencias pendientes que encomendó la empresa","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"The case has been assigned to prosecutor Camila López of Chile's Specialized Eastern (Oriente) Investigation Prosecution Office, a unit that handles corruption and economic crimes; López reportedly joined the Public Ministry in 2017 and became a prosecutor in 2025. Orionx's complaint reportedly requests that prosecutors obtain witness statements from Zibert and Díaz, lift bank secrecy on their personal accounts and related business entities, recover system access credentials for platforms including Fireblocks, AWS, and Google Workspace, recover two company-issued laptops, and request transaction and counterparty data from international exchanges including Binance, Coinbase, Celsius, and Kraken. Separately, at least one Orionx customer, identified in press reports as Pedro Molleda, has filed his own complaint over an unrecovered bitcoin investment and has asked prosecutors to evaluate Orionx's potential criminal liability as a corporate entity, distinct from the liability of the individual former executives.","heading":"Prosecutorial process and investigative requests","sources":[{"url":"https://www.latercera.com/pulso/noticia/quien-es-la-fiscal-detras-de-caso-orionx-y-las-diligencias-pendientes-que-encomendo-la-empresa/","name":"La Tercera — Quién es la fiscal detrás de caso OrionX y las diligencias pendientes que encomendó la empresa","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.df.cl/mercados/bolsa-monedas/cierre-de-orionx-suma-nueva-querella-criminal-contra-sus-exsocios-y","name":"Diario Financiero — Cierre de Orionx suma nueva querella criminal contra sus exsocios y tensiona a la industria cripto","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"Chile's Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (CMF), the country's financial markets regulator, was not supervising Orionx at the time of its collapse. CMF president Catherine Tornel stated that in June 2026 the regulator had already rejected Orionx's application for registration and authorization under Chile's Fintech Law and issued a public alert that the company was not authorized to provide regulated financial services. Because Orionx operated outside the CMF's regulatory perimeter, the regulator has stated it cannot supervise or compel the company's closure and restitution process; the CMF has said the obligation to return client funds falls on the entity itself, and that affected customers retain civil and criminal legal remedies but no regulator-backed compensation scheme, deposit insurance, or guaranteed recovery mechanism exists for crypto assets in Chile. Orionx has said it has begun a multi-stage closure and restitution plan but has explicitly warned customers that full recovery of funds is not guaranteed. Reporting citing Orionx figures put the affected user base at more than 100,000 registered accounts.","heading":"Regulatory status and lack of a recovery path","sources":[{"url":"https://www.elmostrador.cl/mercados/2026/09/04/cmf-confirmo-que-la-web-de-criptomonedas-orionx-en-proceso-de-cierre-nunca-tuvo-permisos/","name":"El Mostrador — CMF confirmó que la web de criptomonedas Orionx, en proceso de cierre, nunca tuvo permisos","type":"regulatory","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.df.cl/mercados/bolsa-monedas/cmf-afirma-que-no-esta-supervisando-proceso-de-cierre-de-orionx-nosotros","name":"Diario Financiero — CMF afirma que no está supervisando proceso de cierre de Orionx","type":"regulatory","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.tftc.io/orionx-collapse-7-million-custodial-theft-chile","name":"TFTC — Orionx Collapse: $7M Missing, 100,000 Users Left Holding the Bag","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"Roberto Zibert is described in company and press materials as a co-founder of Orionx alongside Joaquín Díaz and Joel Vainstein, and served as the company's general manager/CEO before the events described above; press reports place his age at 33 and note he studied at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in Chile. Orionx, founded in 2017 and based in Las Condes, Santiago, grew from a retail cryptocurrency exchange into a broader crypto payments and financial services platform operating in Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Mexico, and received a Series A funding round led by Tether in June 2025. Zibert has publicly discussed the platform in prior promotional media appearances. No sources reviewed indicate any regulatory action, lawsuit, or public allegation against Zibert prior to the 2026 Orionx complaint.","heading":"Zibert's background and role at Orionx","sources":[{"url":"https://www.crunchbase.com/person/roberto-zibert","name":"Crunchbase — Roberto Zibert person profile","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/orionx-shut-down-7-million-move-outside-wallets","name":"Cointelegraph — Tether-Backed Orionx Shuts Down After $7M Custody Gap","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://crypto.news/tether-backed-orionx-closes-over-7m-custody-gap/","name":"crypto.news — Tether-backed Orionx closes over $7m custody gap","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"The Orionx collapse drew comment from competitors in the Chilean crypto industry. Jaime Bunzli, CEO of the rival Chilean exchange Buda, was quoted characterizing the episode as 'not a problem of cryptocurrencies or technology' but rather 'a problem of corporate governance and internal controls,' a framing aimed at distinguishing the alleged internal misconduct at Orionx from systemic risks in the broader crypto industry.","heading":"Industry reaction","sources":[{"url":"https://es.tradingview.com/news/cointelegraph:8e32f137a09cd:0/","name":"TradingView / Cointelegraph (Spanish) — cita de Jaime Bunzli sobre gobierno corporativo","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"low"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2017","event":"Orionx founded in Chile by Roberto Zibert, Joaquín Díaz, and Joel Vainstein as a retail cryptocurrency exchange.","source":"Cointelegraph / Crunchbase","source_url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/orionx-shut-down-7-million-move-outside-wallets"},{"date":"2018","event":"Start of the period during which Orionx alleges customer crypto assets began being diverted to wallets outside company control, per the company's later criminal complaint.","source":"La Tercera","source_url":"https://www.latercera.com/pulso/noticia/las-operaciones-que-llevaron-al-abrupto-cierre-de-la-plataforma-de-criptomonedas-orionx/"},{"date":"2021","event":"End of the period during which the alleged unauthorized asset transfers occurred, according to Orionx's criminal complaint.","source":"La Tercera","source_url":"https://www.latercera.com/pulso/noticia/las-operaciones-que-llevaron-al-abrupto-cierre-de-la-plataforma-de-criptomonedas-orionx/"},{"date":"2025-01","event":"Co-founder Joel Vainstein reportedly assumed the role of general manager/CEO of Orionx as part of a compliance push under Chile's Fintech Law.","source":"La Tercera","source_url":"https://www.latercera.com/pulso/noticia/las-operaciones-que-llevaron-al-abrupto-cierre-de-la-plataforma-de-criptomonedas-orionx/"},{"date":"2025-03","event":"Thomas Mac Millan reportedly became Orionx's chief operating officer.","source":"La Tercera","source_url":"https://www.latercera.com/pulso/noticia/las-operaciones-que-llevaron-al-abrupto-cierre-de-la-plataforma-de-criptomonedas-orionx/"},{"date":"2025-06","event":"Chile's CMF rejected Orionx's application for registration/authorization under the Fintech Law and issued a public alert that the company was not authorized to provide regulated financial services.","source":"TFTC / El Mostrador","source_url":"https://www.tftc.io/orionx-collapse-7-million-custodial-theft-chile","date_original":"2025-06-19"},{"date":"2025-06","event":"Tether led a Series A funding round in Orionx.","source":"La Tercera","source_url":"https://www.latercera.com/pulso/noticia/las-operaciones-que-llevaron-al-abrupto-cierre-de-la-plataforma-de-criptomonedas-orionx/"},{"date":"2025-08","event":"COO Thomas Mac Millan allegedly detected a significant mismatch between Orionx's internal account balances and the crypto assets actually held in custody wallets, triggering an internal review.","source":"La Tercera","source_url":"https://www.latercera.com/pulso/noticia/las-operaciones-que-llevaron-al-abrupto-cierre-de-la-plataforma-de-criptomonedas-orionx/","date_original":"2025-08-27"},{"date":"2025-11","event":"An internal ad hoc committee investigation into the discrepancy reportedly concluded.","source":"La Tercera","source_url":"https://www.latercera.com/pulso/noticia/las-operaciones-que-llevaron-al-abrupto-cierre-de-la-plataforma-de-criptomonedas-orionx/","date_original":"2025-11-14"},{"date":"2026-09","event":"Orionx filed a criminal complaint against co-founders Roberto Zibert and Joaquín Díaz alleging disloyal administration in connection with the missing customer assets.","source":"La Tercera","source_url":"https://www.latercera.com/pulso/noticia/cierra-plataforma-de-criptomonedas-orionx-y-acusa-a-exsocios-de-irregularidades-por-us7-millones/","date_evidence":"A esto se añade una querella criminal presentada el pasado 2 de septiembre en contra de dos de los socios fundadores.","date_original":"2026-09-02"},{"date":"2026-09","event":"Orionx publicly announced the permanent shutdown of its operations, citing a forensic audit that found more than $7 million (Deloitte audit: approximately $6.066 million) in customer crypto assets moved to wallets outside company custody; withdrawals were suspended.","source":"Cointelegraph","source_url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/orionx-shut-down-7-million-move-outside-wallets","date_original":"2026-09-03"},{"date":"2026-09","event":"Chile's CMF publicly clarified it was not supervising Orionx's closure process because the exchange had never been an authorized, regulated entity; Zibert and Díaz issued a written denial to customers rejecting the allegations.","source":"El Mostrador / La Cuarta","source_url":"https://www.elmostrador.cl/mercados/2026/09/04/cmf-confirmo-que-la-web-de-criptomonedas-orionx-en-proceso-de-cierre-nunca-tuvo-permisos/","date_original":"2026-09-04"}],"sources_used":[{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/orionx-shut-down-7-million-move-outside-wallets","name":"Cointelegraph — Tether-Backed Orionx Shuts Down After $7M Custody Gap","type":"news_article","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260906122244/https://cointelegraph.com/news/orionx-shut-down-7-million-move-outside-wallets","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-09-06T12:22:44+00:00"},{"url":"https://crypto.news/tether-backed-orionx-closes-over-7m-custody-gap/","name":"crypto.news — Tether-backed Orionx closes over $7m custody gap","type":"news_article","archive_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20260912021122/https://crypto.news/tether-backed-orionx-closes-over-7m-custody-gap/","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-09-12T02:11:22+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.latercera.com/pulso/noticia/las-operaciones-que-llevaron-al-abrupto-cierre-de-la-plataforma-de-criptomonedas-orionx/","name":"La Tercera — Las operaciones que llevaron al abrupto cierre de la plataforma de criptomonedas OrionX","type":"news_article","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260905102628/https://www.latercera.com/pulso/noticia/las-operaciones-que-llevaron-al-abrupto-cierre-de-la-plataforma-de-criptomonedas-orionx/","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-09-05T10:26:28+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.latercera.com/pulso/noticia/cierra-plataforma-de-criptomonedas-orionx-y-acusa-a-exsocios-de-irregularidades-por-us7-millones/","name":"La Tercera — Cierra plataforma de criptomonedas OrionX y acusa a exsocios de irregularidades por US$7 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