Key Insights:
- Argentina’s Anti-Corruption Office has officially cleared President Javier Milei in the LIBRA memecoin scandal.
- The LIBRA token’s market cap surged to over $4 billion after Milei’s February 14th X post, only to plummet 94% after.
- The OA’s investigation concluded that Milei’s personal X account did not use government resources for the endorsement.
Argentina’s President Javier Milei has been officially cleared of wrongdoing in the LIBRA memecoin scandal that shook the crypto space back in February.
The country’s Anti-Corruption Office (OA) recently concluded its investigation and determined that Milei did not violate any federal ethics laws. This is despite the massive fallout and how drastically the token crashed after his endorsement.
Even though this ruling provides legal relief for the president, the scandal, which is now nicknamed “Cryptogate” by the media is far from over. Here’s everything we know so far.
The Rise and Fall of the LIBRA Token
The controversy started on 14 February,, when President Milei posted about the LIBRA token on his personal X account.
Within hours, the token’s market cap skyrocketed to over $4 billion, mostly fueled largely by the trust his followers placed in the presidential endorsement.
However, it all came crashing down shortly afterwards.
Just as fast as it rose, the token plummeted by 94% in value and investors suffered heavy losses. The resulting backlash was immediate, with opposition leaders accusing Milei of running a pump-and-dump scheme.
They claimed that he misled the public into investing in an under-researched asset. The event ignited severe backlash across Argentina and lawsuits flooded the courts as investors demanded accountability.
Anti-Corruption Office Says Milei Acted as a Private Citizen
After several months of investigation, Argentina’s Anti-Corruption Office released its findings in June and has now cleared Milei of any official misconduct. According to the OA’s statement, the president had posted about LIBRA in a personal capacity, not as a representative of the government.
The OA pointed out that Milei’s X account had been in use since 2015, long before he assumed the presidency.
Moreover, the account had also been used for personal and political expression before the scandal. It also clarified that no government resources were used to promote the LIBRA token.
“These characteristics of the personal account on the social network X are typical of any citizen who publicly expresses their political ideas,” the report stated.
In essence, the OA found no evidence that Milei used his official status or authority to promote the token.
There was no misuse of power, no allocation of public funds and no breach of government ethics according to the agency.
Milei Was Merely “Spreading the Word”
Throughout the controversy, Milei has maintained that he did not promote LIBRA for personal gain. He argued that he only endorsed the token to raise awareness about a new financial tool that could help small businesses in Argentina.
Interestingly, after the token’s massive crash, Milei deleted the original post and even encouraged an official investigation.
His administration later signed a decree to dissolve the special task force formed to probe the scandal, after saying that its work had been completed and the findings had been forwarded to federal prosecutors.
However, not everyone is convinced. Despite the OA’s official clearance, many critics believe the investigation lacked transparency. Some like Itai Hagman, an economist and member of the Chamber of Deputies argue that the dismantling of the task force was a deliberate ploy to bury the scandal, not to close it with integrity.
“It was always a fake, they never dared to investigate anything at all,” Hagman said in a fiery post on X. “They’re covering each other up because they’re completely up to their necks in it.”
These comments show the growing divide between Milei’s supporters, who see him as a reformer and his critics, who accuse him of using his political clout to dodge accountability.
Legal Investigations Extend Beyond Argentina
The fallout from the LIBRA scandal is not confined to Argentine soil. International legal investigations are now in progress, especially in the United States and the United Kingdom.
A U.S. federal court recently froze over $58 million in USDC linked to Hayden Davis, one of LIBRA’s major romoters. The Southern District of New York is also examining possible fraud affecting American and British investors who suffered losses during the LIBRA crash.
Davis’s involvement adds another layer of complexity. According to reports, he met with Milei on 30 January, just two weeks before the infamous post.
However, the OA report firmly denied any formal ties between Davis and the Argentine government, stating he had been introduced to Milei by members of KIP Protocol, one of LIBRA’s partners.
