Argentina's President and His Sister's Bank Secrecy Records to Be Lifted in Connection With LIBRA Token Investigation

A federal judge has asked for the bank secrecy of Argentina's president and his sister to be lifted in connection with an investigation into the scandal surrounding the LIBRA token.

A federal judge in Argentina has asked for the bank secrecy of President Javier Milei and his sister to be lifted in connection with an investigation into the scandal surrounding the LIBRA token.

Judge María Servini, the judge in charge of the Libra case, asked the country's central bank to lift secrecy on the accounts of President Milei and his sister Karina Milei, who reportedly interacted with some of Libra's co-founders before the token's launch.

The launch and subsequent crash of the Libra token have turned into a major scandal for Milei, with local media calling it 'CryptoGate'. The president has faced calls for impeachment and accusations of fraud after first endorsing and then withdrawing his support for the new crypto asset. The token's collapse caused investors to lose millions of dollars – Libra's value collapsed 90% in just a few hours.

Frozen assets and refusal of mediation

Earlier, Judge Servini ordered the freezing of the finances of the three co-founders of the Libra memecoin, reports local news site Pagina 12. According to the publication, prosecutors are also examining video evidence of how the mother and sister of one of the co-founders allegedly emptied bank safe-deposit boxes the day after the token was promoted by Miley.

The president and his sister also refused to appear at a preliminary mediation hearing ahead of a possible civil lawsuit, Pagina 12 reported. The subpoena was issued by an Argentine lawyer representing 25 foreign and local victims of the financial meltdown.

Milay himself denies any wrongdoing, playing down the idea that many Argentines lost money and claiming he simply intended to promote the project as a "supertech enthusiast."

The scale of the scandal

'CryptoGate' was the first major political test for the Miley administration. The Libra token caught the attention of investors after a public endorsement from the president, which caused the price to skyrocket. However, an equally precipitous drop in the token's value following Miley's withdrawal of his endorsement saw many investors lose money.

The investigation is focusing not only on the role of the president and his sister, but also on the actions of the team behind the Libra project. Judicial authorities are looking into whether investors were deliberately misled and whether the president used his position to promote the project, which later proved to be extremely volatile.

The situation is complicated by the fact that Mealey positioned himself as a supporter of cryptocurrencies and the free market, and now finds himself at the center of a scandal related to this very sphere.