Argentina’s President Javier Milei was charged with fraud on Sunday for promoting a cryptocurrency called ‘$LIBRA’, which caused significant financial losses to its investors.
The fraud charges were filed in a criminal court after Milei posted about the coin on social media last week, claiming that $LIBRA was designed to encourage economic growth by supporting small businesses and startups. However, the post was removed just hours after it was shared, leading to a sharp drop in the value of the currency and significant losses for investors, according to financial site Dexscreener.
One of the plaintiffs, lawyer Jonatan Baldiviezo, told the news agency Associated Press that Milei’s actions could be considered part of an illicit scheme designed to defraud investors. He compared the incident to a “rug pull” in the crypto world, where developers abandon a project after attracting investors, leaving the token worthless.
Following the public backlash, Milei claimed on X that he was unaware of the details of the cryptocurrency’s development and explained that he deleted the post after learning more about the project.
The president’s office also said that Milei was not involved in the cryptocurrency’s development. They said that the post was deleted to limit further speculation and exposure to the project.
The president’s office also confirmed that the anti-corruption office would be investigating the matter. .