Fraud charges filed against Argentina's Milei over crypto promotion

Argentine President Javier Milei is facing fraud charges for promoting the LIBRA (CRYPTO:LIBRA) cryptocurrency, which has led to substantial financial losses for investors.

Lawyers filed charges in criminal court, alleging Milei's promotion constituted illicit association to commit fraud.

Milei promoted LIBRA on X, causing a surge in investment.

However, he deleted the post hours later, leading to a collapse in the coin's value.

The president’s office stated Milei wasn't involved in the cryptocurrency's creation and removed the post to avoid speculation.

According to the Associated Press, lawyers Marcos Zelaya and Jonatan Baldiviezo, engineer María Eva Koutsovitis, and economist Claudio Lozano filed a criminal complaint alleging Milei was complicit in fraud by promoting Libra.

"Within this illicit association, the crime of fraud was committed, in which the president’s actions were essential," Jonatan Baldiviezo said.

Baldiviezo also accused Milei of violating the Public Ethics Law.

Another attorney is preparing a class-action suit for those who invested in the token and lost money.

Opposition lawmaker Leandro Santoro has said he would launch a request to impeach the president.

The presidential office claimed Milei wasn't aware of the project's details when he endorsed it and had no connection to the company that launched the token.

However, Milei disclosed he met with KIP Protocol representatives, who informed him about the blockchain project.

Following the token's collapse, Milei requested the Anti-Corruption Office investigate all government members, including himself, for potential misconduct.

Some analysts raised concerns after discovering Libra’s website domain was created hours before launch, and there is no public owner information.