Argentine judge freezes 25 wallets in LIBRA memecoin fraud probe
In brief
- Judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi froze 25 wallets on Binance, Bybit, OKX, Bitfinex
- LIBRA memecoin launched February 14, 2025, promoted by President Javier Milei
- Investigators estimate losses exceed $250 million from alleged rug pull
- Lobbyist Mauricio Novelli and US businessman Hayden Davis implicated
The order and scope
Judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi issued the freeze order targeting wallets across some of the biggest exchanges in the industry: Binance, Bybit, OKX, and Bitfinex. The wallets had reportedly been active in transferring digital dollars, suggesting attempts to move or obscure funds tied to the LIBRA project.
Yet the order carries a critical limitation. According to analyst Fernando Molina, no actual funds have been frozen from those wallets yet — the order exists on paper. The money, apparently, is not sitting around waiting to be caught.
Key figures and scale
Investigators now estimate the losses from the LIBRA incident exceed $250 million. The probe has identified key figures including lobbyist Mauricio Novelli and Hayden Davis, a US businessman associated with Kelsier Ventures. The investigation has traced communications and proposed financial arrangements allegedly involving President Milei and Novelli.
Procedural setbacks
Opposition lawmakers have warned that recent procedural moves could signal a path toward impunity. Five investor plaintiffs were removed from the proceedings on July 6 at the defense's request, raising concerns among critics that the case's trajectory may favor the accused over victims.
The LIBRA collapse underscores how political endorsement can obscure risk. A president promoting a memecoin should have been a red flag, not a buy signal — yet thousands of retail investors treated it as validation.
