Lawyers Accuse Argentina’s Donald Trump of Crypto Fraud
President Javier Milei stands accused of a digital currency “rug pull” just weeks after his U.S. counterpart magicked $14 billion out of thin air with the launch of his memecoin.
Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Latino Wall Street
Argentina’s chainsaw-wielding, dead dog-whispering president is fending off accusations of fraud after backing what appears to have been a crypto scheme that cost investors millions of dollars.
Lawyers filed complaints with the South American country’s criminal courts on Sunday alleging President Javier Milei—often described as “Argentina’s Donald Trump” for his far-right sympathies, eccentricity, and aggressive approach to slashing government spending—facilitated a “rug pull” by developers of digital currency $LIBRA, the Associated Press reports.
Milei had written on X in support of $LIBRA on Friday morning, praising the coin for “encouraging economic growth by funding small businesses and startups” before deleting his post just hours later, at which point the value of the currency promptly collapsed.
The lawyers behind the complaint accuse Milei helping the digital asset’s developers, KIP Protocol and Hayden Davis, to drum up investment in $LIBRA before abruptly liquidating their own holdings in the cryptocurrency, allowing them to walk away with millions and leaving investors with effectively worthless tokens.
Milei has acknowledged meeting with KIP Protocol representatives ahead of the asset’s launch but has denied any wrongdoing and accused his opponents of attempting to exploit the crash for political gain.
The proceedings come just a month after Trump himself reportedly magicked $14 billion out of thin air with the launch of memecoin $TRUMP on the eve of his presidential inauguration. Crypto experts have described it as a “historic grift” that will secure Trump and his inner circle millions while “wrecking” gullible investors.
“The president is participating in shady crypto schemes that harm investors while at the same time appointing financial regulators who will roll back protections for victims and who may insulate him and his family from enforcement,” Corey Frayer, a former crypto adviser to the SEC, told The New York Times.
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