“I did not promote it, I spread it,” Milei told broadcaster TN, adding that it “is a problem between private parties because the State does not play a role here.”
“I acted in good faith,” he said.
Argentina’s federal prosecutor’s office will examine whether Milei engaged in fraud or criminal association or was in breach of his duties when he praised the $LIBRA cryptocurrency on social media Friday evening, according to news reports.
The currency’s value soared then crashed, and Milei deleted his blessing hours later, saying he had made a mistake.
Argentine economists, crypto specialists and opposition political figures criticized the self-declared “anarcho-capitalist” president, an economist by training, and said the digital asset could be a fraud or a Ponzi scheme.
Industry observers said the operation was likely a “rug pull” — a scam where developers unveil a crypto token, attract investors, then quickly cash out.
Rights NGO Observatory for the Right to the City, one of several complainants, alleges Milei formed part of a “criminal organization that organized a fraud with the $LIBRA cryptocurrency that simultaneously affected more than 40,000 people with losses of more than $4 billion.”
The Kobeissi Letter, a publication that provides analysis on global capital markets, said on X Friday that within minutes of its launch, “multiple large holders began liquidating MILLIONS of USD worth of $LIBRA.”
“This included gains of +$4 million or more as $LIBRA rose to $4.6 billion in market (capitalization),” it reported.
