Key Highlights
- Argentine commission accuses President Milei of “alleged fraud” tied to $LIBRA token promotion.
- Judge freezes assets of suspected $LIBRA organizers amid $100M+ investor losses.
- An earlier administrative probe cleared Milei, but criminal and international cases continue.
Argentina’s political crisis around the collapsed $LIBRA token has resurfaced after a congressional commission accused President Javier Milei of “alleged fraud,” reversing months of calm following his earlier clearance by the Anti-Corruption Office.
A new report published Tuesday by lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies, and covered by major Argentine and international news outlets, concludes that Milei and his sister Karina Milei bear “political responsibility” for promoting what investigators now describe as a suspected crypto scam.
A fraud probe reignited
The commission points to a February post in which Milei publicly endorsed the $LIBRA memecoin with the message: “The world wants to invest in Argentina. $LIBRA.”
The token skyrocketed and then collapsed within 24 hours, leaving investors with estimated losses of $100 to $120 million. Industry analysts labeled the episode a classic rug pull, while Milei later claimed he “did not know the details of the project.”
Milei was cleared earlier this year
The renewed accusations contrast with the ruling issued months earlier by Argentina’s Anti-Corruption Office (OA).
That investigation found no ethics violations, concluding Milei had promoted $LIBRA in a “personal capacity,” using no public resources and issuing no official policy.
Federal judge freezes assets tied to $LIBRA operators
The case escalated last week. On November 11, federal judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi ordered a nationwide asset freeze targeting U.S. businessman Hayden Davis, along with Argentine operator Orlando Mellino and Colombian national Favio Camilo Rodríguez Blanco, all allegedly involved in moving funds tied to the token.
Investigators say Davis shifted $507,500 through Bitget just 42 minutes after posing in a selfie with Milei in January. Recovered messages suggest Davis claimed to have influence within Milei’s inner circle, including claims of sending money to the president’s sister.
Authorities believe the trio operated a crypto “money exchange” to launder proceeds from $LIBRA before the market collapse.
What comes next
Argentina’s criminal investigation into $LIBRA remains active, and the commission’s findings have now been forwarded to federal prosecutors. Politically, any move toward censure looks unlikely as a new Congress dominated by Milei allies takes office in December.
Meanwhile, the judicial probe is accelerating. Investigators are tracking offshore wallets, suspicious transfers, and possible money-laundering links tied to the token’s operators. For investors, the key question is whether authorities can recover any of the missing funds and how far the scandal will widen as the money trail unfolds.
Also read: WhiteBIT Secures VASP in Argentina, Eyes Brazil Launch
