PERU · BUSINESS
Key Facts
- The claim A protected witness alleges that businesses coordinated to guard Peru’s cash-transport market.
- The firms Hermes and Prosegur, two armoured cash-transport companies, are named; no offence is shown.
- The bill Bill 9476 would let Banco de la Nación, Peru’s state bank, move cash to remote areas.
- The status Nothing is proven, and we found no reply from the companies or agencies.
- Power Index Peru ranks 5th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 53.9 points (November 2026 edition).
A protected witness has told Peru’s public prosecutor’s office, known as the Fiscalía, that businesses coordinated to protect the cash-transport market. The account was published on Sunday 8 November 2026, and the witness says the aim was also to block a bill.
None of this is proven, and the companies named are not shown to have committed any offence. We found no response to the allegations from the companies or from any agency, so every claim below is the witness’s allegation.
For background on how the country is divided, see our guide to Peru’s regions and provinces. According to the account, remote areas are where the bill at the centre of this story would apply.
What Happened
The witness, whose name is withheld, filed a complaint with the Fiscalía, according to the account published on 8 November 2026. The witness says that he or she held senior posts in the government, an international organisation and a business association.
The witness says recordings exist of meetings where the measures were allegedly discussed. We cannot verify the recordings, and we do not know whether they exist or were made lawfully.
What the Witness Alleges
The witness alleges that businesses coordinated, in what Spanish calls concertación (alleged collusion), to protect their position in the cash-in-transit market. The witness adds that they wanted to block a proposal letting the state bank move cash by other means.
The witness names two companies: Hermes and Prosegur, two armoured cash-transport companies. The witness also alleges that a private security-industry association, which the account does not name, was used to limit other companies’ participation.
The witness further alleges that two regulators were lobbied to give unfavourable opinions on the bill. They are the SBS (Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP, Peru’s banking regulator) and SUCAMEC (Peru’s regulator of security services, weapons and explosives).
The Bill at the Centre
Bill 9476 (Proyecto de Ley 9476), presented in November 2024 according to the account, would authorise Banco de la Nación to carry cash with police protection. It would do so through Peru’s Armed Forces or leased vehicles, to reach remote localities and cut service costs.
The SBS website lists an official letter on the bill, numbered 06799-2025-SBS-PL-9476 and dated Wednesday 5 February 2025, which we could not open. We could not read the full bill text either, so its details here come from the witness’s account and from reports that describe the cash movement as exceptional.
A Market With Two Players in 2024
In 2024 the SBS was reported to have said that only two cash-in-transit companies, known as ETCAN (empresas de transporte de caudales), serve the financial entities it supervises. Those two companies are Hermes and Prosegur.
In September 2024 the government issued Legislative Decree 1646 (a law issued under powers delegated by Congress) to encourage competition. It halved the minimum capital needed to create such a company, from S/ 15,565,200 (Peruvian soles, about US$4.5 million) to S/ 7,782,600 (about US$2.3 million), at S/3.44 per US$ (market rate on 9 November 2026).
The earlier figure comes from SBS circular G-224-2024 (a regulator’s notice), which updates the minimum capital each quarter, and the SBS was to write the new rules within 180 days. The capital rule applies only to services for financial entities.
Who Could Be Affected
The witness says rural residents who depend on state bonuses and pensions paid in cash are the people affected. That is the witness’s claim, and we have not independently tested it.
What It Means for You
For US investors who follow Peruvian banking, the story is about market access, cash logistics and competition rules. The allegations against the named firms are untested.
US companies in security logistics may watch how Peru treats competition in cash transport. For wider Peruvian business context, see our report on metalworkers expecting a 2027 demand rebound.
Until prosecutors act or the companies reply, the claims remain the witness’s word alone. Our guide to Peru’s political key players explains who shapes bills like this one.
What Is Not Known
We found no reply to the allegations from Hermes, Prosegur, the SBS, SUCAMEC or the Fiscalía. It is not known whether prosecutors opened a formal investigation, or who the witness is.
It is also not known whether the recordings exist or are lawful. INDECOPI (Peru’s competition authority) was not mentioned in the account, and no competition-authority action has been reported to us.
In plain English: The Fiscalía is Peru’s public prosecutor’s office, and a cash-in-transit company moves banknotes for banks. Collusion means rivals secretly agreeing to limit competition, and everyone named here is presumed innocent.
More: Peru news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Does the Witness Allege?
The witness says businesses coordinated to protect their share of Peru’s cash-transport market and to block Bill 9476. None of this is proven, and the companies are not shown to have committed any offence.
What Would Bill 9476 Do?
As described in the account, it would let the state bank, Banco de la Nación, move cash with police protection, through Peru’s Armed Forces or leased vehicles. The aim is to reach remote localities and cut service costs.
Have the Companies Responded?
We found no reply to the allegations from Hermes, Prosegur, the SBS, SUCAMEC or the Fiscalía. The allegations remain untested.
Sources: Allegations as published on 8 November 2026 (the complaint itself has not been published), read 9 November 2026; El Peruano, official gazette, Legislative Decree 1646, 13 September 2024, read 9 November 2026; El Peruano, SBS circular G-224-2024, 8 July 2024, read 9 November 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error