- A parliamentary commission accuses President Milei of using his office to promote the LIBRA token’s fraudulent launch.
- Officials face accusations for non-cooperation, while a judge freezes assets of a creator worth up to $120M.
A congressional investigative commission in Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies has concluded that President Javier Milei used his official position to promote the LIBRA token, according to a final report presented after a months-long inquiry.
The legislative body, composed of lawmakers opposed to the government, also implicated his sister, Karina Milei, for arranging meetings and facilitating access within the presidential palace related to the digital initiative.
The parliamentary document classifies the operation as an alleged international fraudulent maneuver. It states that the president’s post of the token’s purchase contract on his X account was a determining factor in legitimizing the asset’s launch on February 14.
The report describes an operational pattern beginning with an initial concentration of tokens, followed by endorsement from a public figure attracting buyers, and ending with a massive withdrawal of liquidity by the developers—a scheme known as a rug pull.
The commission’s analysis details that 114,410 digital wallets recorded financial losses. Of these, 498 addresses lost more than 100,000 US dollars, and another 3,144 suffered losses between 10,000 and 100,000 dollars. In contrast, only 36 addresses obtained substantial profits. The legislators emphasized that the Argentine state conducted no evaluation of the project before the Presidency publicly promoted it.
The report also delves into the relationships between those directly involved in the launch: American businessman Hayden Davis and citizens Mauricio Novelli and Manuel Terrones Godoy.
It states that the General Secretariat of the Presidency, under Karina Milei’s direction, authorized these individuals’ access to the government building. The investigation faced resistance, as several deputies reported a lack of cooperation from officials of the Executive Branch.
Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona, the head of the Anti-Corruption Office Alejandro Melik, and the former head of the LIBRA investigation unit, Florencia Zicavo, will be formally reported for non-cooperation.
Judicial Developments and Precautionary Measures
The ruling party’s response was immediate. Deputies from La Libertad Avanza qualified the commission’s work as a parliamentary excess lacking legal basis, arguing it acted arbitrarily and that its conclusions aim to confront the judicial system rather than complement it.
The opposition legislators, in their conclusions, warn that the president would have violated public ethics rules and blurred the lines between private interests and state functions.
Parallel to the parliamentary investigation, the federal justice system advanced its own case. Judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi ordered a freeze on the assets of Hayden Davis, one of LIBRA’s creators.
The precautionary measure aims to secure funds estimated between 100 and 120 million dollars linked to the alleged fraud. This freeze prevents any transfer or movement of assets and is intended to block potential capital flight routes.
Credit: Source link
