Argentina’s chief prosecutor, Eduardo Taiano, has called for the freezing of assets linked to LIBRA amounting to approximately $100 million and the recovery of deleted messages, including a tweet by the country’s president, Javier Milei, promoting the meme coin. This was reported by Clarin.
Taiano also requested detailed information on the project’s transactions.
To implement these measures, the chief prosecutor sought assistance from international crypto platforms, law enforcement agencies, and regulators.
On February 14, the token promoted by Milei reached a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, only for its price to plummet by 94% within hours. The LIBRA rally began shortly after the Argentine president’s post on X, where he shared a link to the coin’s website and contract address.
Subsequently, Milei deleted the message and claimed he never urged people to buy LIBRA. Nonetheless, his actions led to a scandal. The president was accused of fraud, involvement in a Pump & Dump scheme, and faced threats of impeachment.
Lookonchain reported that some users suffered significant losses twice from investing in the “Argentine” meme coin. According to Nansen, the total losses for nearly 86% of LIBRA traders amounted to $251 million.
The CEO of Kelsier Ventures, Hayden Davis, who was behind the token’s launch, withdrew $100 million. He later revealed that he paid the Argentine president’s sister to have her brother promote the meme coin.
Media reports suggest Davis maintained relations with Milei’s entourage to develop a strategy to neutralize the scandal. Communication continued even after an interview with the head of state, in which he denied any role in the project.
On February 17, Bubblemaps linked LIBRA and the coin of the US First Lady Melania Trump (MELANIA) to the same team. KIP Protocol denied involvement with the meme token.
In February, local media speculated about the US Department of Justice launching an investigation into Milei’s role in promoting LIBRA.
Besides him, the involvement of the project’s founders—Davis, Julian Peha of KIP Protocol, and two Argentine entrepreneurs, Mauricio Novelli and Manuel Terrones Godoy—is also under scrutiny.
Previously, industry experts discussed addressing insider issues in meme coins but failed to reach a consensus on effective methods.
Back in 2022, Javier Milei, then a presidential candidate in Argentina, was sued for promoting an alleged cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme.