Argentina’s Libra Meme Coin Case Takes a Turn With Frozen Funds, Payments Probe: Report

An Argentine judge has frozen assets related to the Libra meme coin scandal after investigators discovered possible “indirect payments to public officials” by Kelsher Ventures CEO Hayden Davis, one of the people involved in launching the Solana token.

Specifically, just 42 minutes after President Milley posted the now-infamous message, Davis transferred $507,500 via the cryptocurrency exchange Bitget. selfie Mirai interacted with Davis on social media, during which Mirai said Davis gave him advice on blockchain and AI.

Although there is no concrete evidence that the funds were transferred to Millay or his associates, Argentina’s public prosecutor’s office suggested it was a “possible indirect payment to a public official,” the report said. Field report. Prosecutors argued that the intermediaries may have acted as “exit ramps” that made it difficult to trace the funds.

As a result, the court ordered the freezing of assets related to Hayden Davis and two alleged intermediaries, Fabio Camilo Rodríguez Blanco and Orlando Rodolfo Merino. For example, Blanco allegedly helped move cash through a safe deposit box just hours after Libra collapsed.

The freeze was made as a result of a technical report from the Office of Financial Investigation and Recovery of Illegal Assets and the General Directorate of Asset Recovery and Forfeiture of the Prosecutor’s Office. This will continue until the case is resolved.

Launched in February, Libra was branded as a way to help finance small and medium-sized businesses in Argentina and was promoted by President Milay on social media. The market capitalization quickly reached billions of dollars, but it crashed 90% in a matter of hours, and amid the resulting chaos and confusion, Millais deleted the post.

analysis company bubble map It then linked LIBRA’s on-chain activity to the launch of US First Lady Melania Trump’s meme coin a few weeks ago in January. The launch was similarly controversial and enjoyed a brief boost before collapsing in value.

Argentina’s federal government’s Libra lawsuit is running parallel to federal law. Incident in the United Statesalthough pursuing a different path. The U.S. lawsuit focuses on Meteora co-founder Benjamin Chow as the mastermind behind the operation, but downplays Milay’s involvement.

In contrast, the Argentine case focuses on the roles of Davis, Argentine lobbyists Mauricio Novelli and Manuel Terrones Godoy, and President Milay.

Documents revealed in an Argentine court show that three months before Libra’s launch, Novelli and President Milay discussed creating a project to “monetize the image of the president.” In his statement, Novelli argued that Millais’ images were “extremely personal property” and did not violate public order laws.

Meanwhile, a US class action lawsuit claims that Javier Millay and Melania Trump were used as “legitimizing props” with “fraudulent tokens”. The document notes that Chow is “at the heart of the company,” with Davis and Kelsher Ventures working under his direction.

Originally, U.S. courts $58 million frozen An equivalent amount of virtual currency linked to Davis and Chow in May. However, the funds are not unzipped In August, a judge said he was “skeptical” that the plaintiffs would succeed.

Kelsier Ventures, Mauricio Novelli and Manuel Terrones Godoy did not respond. decryptionRequest for comment from.