Pandemonium erupted in Argentina as President Javier Milei faces a federal investigation over his promotion of $LIBRA cryptocurrency, a digital token that spectacularly crashed hours after his endorsement.
Federal Court No. 1, under Judge María Servini, launched a probe to determine if Milei breached presidential duties or participated in criminal association.
Argentina’s Federal Court investigates President Milei for potential criminal conspiracy and breach of duty over crypto scandal.
The numbers are staggering. Investors lost billions when $LIBRA imploded, with an estimated US$4.4 billion in transactions during a frenzied two-hour period.
Roughly US$107 million vanished in what critics call an elaborate “rug pull” scam. The Buenos Aires Stock Exchange took a 4% nosedive as the scandal unfolded.
Milei’s defense? He claims he merely “spread” information and acted in good faith. His office frantically distanced itself from $LIBRA’s creators, while the Anti-Corruption Office scrambles to investigate potential improper conduct.
Talk about damage control.
The investigation’s scope has widened to include CEO Julian Peh and Lower House Speaker Martin Menem. Investigators requested a raid on the presidential residence and forensic analysis of social media accounts.
Here’s the kicker: 80% of $LIBRA tokens were concentrated among a few holders before Milei’s endorsement. Convenient timing, right?
Opposition forces pounced. Former president Cristina Fernández Kirchner branded Milei a “crypto-scammer,” while his political rivals initiated impeachment proceedings.
Hundreds of fraud complaints flooded digital channels as angry investors demanded answers. The Observatorio de Derecho la Ciudad documented over 40,000 affected individuals in their official complaints.
The scandal, dubbed “cryptogate” by local media, has sparked intense debate over government officials promoting cryptocurrencies.
The token, launched on vivalalibertadproject.com and developed by KIP Protocol and Hayden Davis, reached a peak value of $4.978 before crashing spectacularly.
Milei’s promotional social media post was deleted within hours of the launch as the cryptocurrency’s value began its devastating collapse.
For a president who promised economic salvation, Milei’s crypto mishap has become a political nightmare.
The investigation continues as Argentina grapples with questions about presidential judgment, cryptocurrency regulation, and the price of social media endorsements gone wrong.
