US prosecutors have been informed that they may have jurisdiction to pursue charges against President Javier Milei or other figures involved with the LIBRA meme coin scandal. Impeachment efforts have already begun in Argentina.
An American citizen, Hayden Davis, was principally involved in the launch of LIBRA and brazenly admitted to criminal actions in a recent interview. The scandal also tanked Argentine stocks by nearly 6% today.
President Milei’s LIBRA Meme Coin Scandal Goes Global
A titanic scandal is happening in crypto, as Argentina’s President, Javier Milei, was directly involved in a huge rug pull. Milei, a pro-Bitcoin world leader, initially helped pump the LIBRA meme coin.
However, the token was quickly sniped as insiders cashed out $105 million. To make matters worse, President Milei deleted his promotional tweet and said that he didn’t know much about the meme coin.
This brought investigations and impeachment efforts against Milei from Argentina, but US regulators may get in on it, too.
According to local media, the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) have received criminal complaints against Milei for the LIBRA launch. The launch primarily defrauded Argentine investors, but Americans were also victimized, giving the US possible jurisdiction.
More importantly, the scandal involved Hayden Davis, the CEO of Kelsier, which was the market maker behind LIBRA. Earlier today, he gave an incriminating interview with sleuth Coffeezilla. As a US citizen, this could allow the FBI and DOJ to take direct actions against him.
“If you launch the coin, isn’t it unfair that you snipe the coin?” Coffeezilla asked.
“I would say no. From the standpoint of sniping, most of the time when we’re sniping, we’re attempting to avoid other snipers getting in,” Davis responded.
In this lengthy interview, Davis consistently defended his actions. He claimed that Milei had no direct financial involvement with LIBRA, only promoting it on social media.
However, in the course of claiming that the LIBRA team had noble reasons for the rug pull, Davis confirmed allegations that he was behind MELANIA and that TRUMP also had an insider trading opportunity.
Legal Concerns for All Associated Parties
In other words, there is a wealth of evidence that US prosecutors could use to join the legal fight, if they so choose. Davis’ firm, Kelsen Ventures, is based in the US.
So far, these institutions have given no inclination they might prosecute Milei or LIBRA’s handlers. This may or may not change in the future.
Whatever happens with US law enforcement, Argentina is certainly going to push back against Milei and LIBRA. The Argentine stock market fell nearly 6% after the nation’s President was involved in such a clumsy scandal.
Local reports suggest that leaders in the nation’s crypto community have come forward with their own allegations, and impeachment proceedings have begun.
Argetina’s Stock Market Reacts to the LIBRA Meme Coin Scandal. Source: Trading Economics
At the moment, it’s difficult to make any predictions. Milei’s domestic opponents will pursue him over the LIBRA rug pull, but that’s no guarantee of success.
Meanwhile, in the US, the federal government and state-level prosecutors have all signaled a reduction in crypto-related enforcement actions. Under these circumstances, it would be difficult to sue a foreign head of state.
