MONTEVIDEO (AP) — Legal troubles have emerged for Argentine President Javier Milei as fraud charges were filed against him in criminal court. The charges stem from his promotion of a cryptocurrency on his social media platforms, according to information provided to The Associated Press by one of the involved lawyers.
On Friday, Milei made a post on X (formerly Twitter) endorsing $LIBRA, a cryptocurrency aimed at “encouraging economic growth by funding small businesses and startups.” However, the post was deleted within hours, leading to a significant collapse in the currency's value. This sudden drop resulted in millions of dollars in losses for its short-term investors, as reported by the financial site Dexscreener.
The $LIBRA coin was developed by KIP Protocol and Hayden Davis. It was accessible through a link directing users to a website called vivalalibertadproject.com, echoing Milei’s popular catchphrase often used in his speeches and social media messages.
The President’s Office released a statement on Saturday clarifying that Milei was not involved in any phase of the cryptocurrency’s development. He chose to remove the post to prevent speculation and limit further exposure following the public's reaction to the currency’s launch.
Jonatan Baldiviezo, a lawyer and one of the plaintiffs, alleged that Milei was part of an illicit association to commit “an indeterminate number of frauds.” He emphasized that the president’s actions were crucial in this fraudulent activity. Baldiviezo, along with Marcos Zelaya, engineer María Eva Koutsovitis, and economist Claudio Lozano, signed the petition. The case is expected to be assigned to a judge or referred to a prosecutor for further investigation on Monday.
The plaintiffs accused Milei of a maneuver known in the crypto world as a “rug pull,” where a developer launches an enticing token to attract investors but eventually abandons it, rendering the tokens worthless. Baldiviezo also claimed that Milei violated the Public Ethics Law.
In defense, the President’s Office stated, “The President shared a post on his personal accounts announcing the launch of KIP Protocol’s project, as he does daily with many entrepreneurs who wish to launch projects in Argentina to create jobs and attract investments.”
After deleting the post, Milei expressed on X that he was unaware of the currency’s development and accused his political opponents of exploiting the situation. “I was not aware of the details of the project, and after getting informed, I decided not to continue promoting it, which is why I deleted the tweet,” he explained.
The President’s Office announced that the country’s Anti-Corruption Office, operating under the Executive Branch, would act immediately. They also acknowledged that Milei and his administration had recently engaged in meetings with KIP Protocol representatives at the presidential office.
“All the information gathered in the investigation will be handed over to the judiciary to determine if any of the companies or individuals linked to the KIP Protocol project committed a crime,” stated the Milei administration in their Saturday announcement.
Hayden Mark Davis, a KIP Protocol representative who met with Milei, accused the president of causing the cryptocurrency’s collapse in a video posted on his social media on Saturday. “Despite prior commitments, Milei and his team unexpectedly changed their position, withdrawing their support and deleting all previous posts on social media,” Davis stated.
