Argentine lawyers have filed fraud charges against President Javier Milei after a controversial post on his social media promoted a new cryptocurrency that later collapsed, causing significant financial losses for its investors.
Argentine Prez, Javier Milei under Fire over $LIBRA
The fraud charges were filed on Sunday in criminal court, after Milei’s brief promotion of the cryptocurrency $LIBRA. The coin, which the president introduced via a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, was promoted as a vehicle for fostering economic growth by funding small businesses and startups. However, the post was deleted just hours after it was shared, and the value of the cryptocurrency crashed, leading to millions of dollars in losses for its investors.
Developed by KIP Protocol and led by Hayden Davis, $LIBRA could be purchased by accessing a link directing users to the website vivalalibertadproject.com—a reference to Milei’s signature slogan, “Viva la libertad.” Following a public outcry, Milei removed the post, which the President’s Office later stated was done to avoid further speculation and exposure in light of the project’s negative reception.
The legal action was initiated by lawyers Jonatan Baldiviezo and Marcos Zelaya, along with economist Claudio Lozano and engineer María Eva Koutsovitis. According to Baldiviezo, the episode amounted to a “rug pull,” a type of cryptocurrency scam where developers abandon a project after inflating its value, leaving investors with worthless tokens. Baldiviezo accused the president of being complicit in what he described as a fraudulent operation.
“We see an illicit association to commit an indeterminate number of frauds,” Baldiviezo told The Associated Press. He further stated that the president’s actions were central to the alleged fraud. In addition to the fraud charges, the plaintiffs argue that Milei violated Argentina’s Public Ethics Law.
In response to the incident, Milei and his office have insisted that the president was not involved in the development of the cryptocurrency. On Saturday, his office released a statement saying that Milei’s post was intended to highlight the work of entrepreneurs in Argentina, a common practice for the president. The statement also clarified that after learning more about the project, Milei chose to remove the post to avoid further controversy.
In a follow-up tweet, Milei denied any prior knowledge of the cryptocurrency’s development. “I was not aware of the details of the project, and after getting informed, I decided not to continue promoting it,” he said, suggesting that his political opponents were using the episode to attack him.
Meanwhile, KIP Protocol’s Hayden Davis, who met with Milei’s administration before the promotion, blamed the president for the currency’s collapse. Davis posted a video on social media claiming that Milei’s team had backed out of their commitment to the project, leading to the currency’s downfall.
In an effort to address the situation, the President’s Office announced that the Anti-Corruption Office would investigate the matter, with all gathered information being handed over to the judiciary for further inquiry.
The case is expected to move swiftly, with a judge or prosecutor expected to review the charges by Monday. On the other hand, opposition parties have threatened to launch an impeachment request against the president, calling the episode “embarrassment on an international scale”.
As for the crux of the controversy, $LIBRA is currently trading at $0.3129, having dipped by over 27% in the past 24 hours.
The 24-hour market volume of $LIBRA has also decreased by more than 75%, now at $52.49 million. At present, its market cap stands at $80.25 million.
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