Аргентинский суд приостановил финансовые активы создателя мем-коина LIBRA после расследования действий с государственными служащими Translation: Argentine court freezes financial assets of LIBRA meme coin creator following investigation into dealings with public officials.

An Argentine federal judge has ordered the freezing of both movable and immovable assets, as well as financial holdings belonging to the creator of the LIBRA meme token, Hayden Davis, along with two alleged intermediaries involved in the fund withdrawals following the coin’s collapse. This information was reported by local media outlets.

The ruling came after an investigation revealed potential «indirect payments to public officials» by Davis, specifically referencing a transfer of $507,500 via the Bitget cryptocurrency exchange, which occurred merely 42 minutes after Argentine President Javier Milei posted a selfie with Davis. In Davis’s tweet, he was described as a consultant on blockchain and artificial intelligence.

The other two individuals implicated — Orlando Rodolfo Melino and Fabio Camilo Rodriguez Blanco — are believed by prosecutors to have acted as transit channels to obscure the tracking of funds. Blanco is alleged to have assisted in transferring money through bank cells only hours after the collapse of LIBRA. Subsequently, some of the assets were funneled to Argentine entrepreneurs Mauricio Novelli and Manuel Terrones Godoy, who had been lobbying for the token.

Despite the lack of concrete evidence, the court granted the prosecution’s request. The assets of the three individuals will remain frozen until the investigation is concluded to prevent their dissipation or transfer and to ensure later confiscation.

According to case documents, three months prior to the launch of LIBRA, Novelli and Milei discussed creating projects aimed at «monetizing the president’s image.» The entrepreneur claimed that the libertarian leader’s image represented a «personal asset» that could be freely used without violating the Public Ethics Law.

Launched in February, the LIBRA coin was marketed as a means to finance small businesses in Argentina. Following social media promotion by the head of state, it achieved a market capitalization of $4.56 billion before plummeting by more than 90% within hours.

Afterward, Milei deleted the post and claimed he had never urged people to buy LIBRA. However, his actions led to a scandal in which the president faced accusations of fraud, involvement in a Pump & Dump scheme, and threats of impeachment.

According to Nansen, total losses for nearly 86% of LIBRA traders amounted to $251 million.

The federal LIBRA case in Argentina runs concurrently with an investigation in the United States. Analytical firm Bubblemaps linked the launches of LIBRA and First Lady of the USA’s meme coin MELANIA to the same team.

Reports indicate that the U.S. Department of Justice began an investigation in February that focused on the roles of Milei, Davis, Novelli, Godoy, and Julian Pehu of KIP Protocol in promoting the token. Representatives of the latter denied any involvement with the project. On March 13, attorney Gregorio Dalbon requested an international arrest warrant from Interpol for Davis due to his role in the controversial LIBRA.

In October, a class-action lawsuit was filed against DEX Meteora and its co-founder Benjamin Chow, accused of fraud involving the two presidential meme coins.

Plaintiffs allege that the reputations of Melania Trump and Javier Milei were exploited to «legitimize fraudulent tokens.» Chow was described as the «technical architect» of the scheme, while Davis and his company Kelsier Ventures were held responsible for marketing campaigns.

Victims claim that the defendants launched and sold at least 15 tokens through similar schemes. The lawsuit mentions five of them: LIBRA, MELANIA, ENRON, TRUST, and M3M3.

In February, Chow stated that neither he nor Meteora received any coins or had insider information related to the Libra project. Later that month, after a public scandal, he distanced himself from the project.

Notably, in August, Argentina’s Anti-Corruption Office cleared President Javier Milei of ethical violations related to the promotion of the LIBRA meme token.