Argentine President Javier Milei has landed in legal trouble after promoting a cryptocurrency that later crashed, leading to criminal fraud charges filed against him on Sunday.
The controversy centers around $LIBRA, a cryptocurrency token that Milei endorsed on social media platform X on Friday. In his post, Milei presented the token as an initiative to support economic growth through funding startups and small businesses.
Hours after Milei's endorsement, the token's value plummeted by over 90%, causing massive losses for investors. The President quickly deleted his post, but the damage was already done.
A group of Argentine lawyers filed criminal charges against Milei, alleging his involvement in what crypto experts call a "rug pull" - when developers abandon a project after its value rises, leaving investors with worthless tokens. This incident adds to growing concerns about speculative meme coins, particularly those associated with high-profile figures.
"The president's actions were essential in committing this fraud," said Jonatan Baldiviezo, one of the lawyers who filed the charges. The legal team also includes former Central Bank president Claudio Lozano.
The President's Office released a statement Saturday claiming Milei had no role in developing the cryptocurrency. However, they acknowledged that Milei and his administration had met with representatives from KIP Protocol, the project's developer, at the presidential office.
Hayden Mark Davis, a KIP Protocol representative, blamed Milei for the token's collapse, stating that the president's team unexpectedly withdrew support despite prior commitments.
The incident has sparked calls for impeachment from opposition lawmakers. Under Article 53 of Argentina's Constitution, the Chamber of Deputies can bring charges against the president for poor performance or misconduct in office.
The Anti-Corruption Office has launched an investigation into the matter. Criminal justice authorities are expected to assign a judge or refer the case to a prosecutor on Monday.
At the time of reporting, $LIBRA was trading at approximately $0.3, representing a 92% drop from its peak value of $4.5 billion.