Corruption watchdog clears Javier Milei over LIBRA crypto scandal

Argentine President Javier Milei didn’t breach any of his presidential duties when he promoted the Libra memecoin, the country’s Anti-Corruption Office said in a recent decision.

In a June 5 resolution, the Anti-Corruption Office  said  Milei was acting in a personal capacity when he endorsed the Libra (LIBRA) token in a Feb. 14 X post, and therefore, Milei did not violate Argentina’s federal ethics laws for public officials.

The decision is significant as Milei’s endorsement supposedly  contributed to investors losing  a combined $251 million, prompting members of the opposition party to call for  Milei’s impeachment .

LIBRA reached a $4 billion market cap shortly after Milei’s X post but  crashed around 94%  hours later, possessing many characteristics of a classic crypto pump-and-dump. 

Milei was expressing his private views, watchdog says

The Anti-Corruption Office said no public resources were used in the incident and that Milei has shared his opinions on X since 2015, around eight years before he became president.

“Although the account sometimes references public policies or decisions from his administration, it does so in a non-institutional manner, functioning as a platform for political and personal expression,” the Anti-Corruption Office said in a Spanish-translated document.

“These characteristics of the personal account on the social network X are typical of any citizen who publicly expresses their political ideas,” the department added, while also stating that Milei was exercising his civil and political rights under Argentina’s constitution.

Milei has also  vehemently denied any wrongdoing,  claiming that he didn’t promote the LIBRA memecoin but rather “spread the word” about it.

Despite the Anti-Corruption Office’s decision, a federal criminal court is still investigating Milei’s involvement in the LIBRA token scandal.

Task force also found no wrongdoing

On May 19, Milei signed a decree to shut down a task force established to investigate the Libra scandal .

No action was taken against Milei or any other Argentine official allegedly tied to the scandal.

However, some critics say a legitimate investigation wasn’t conducted adequately in the first place.

“It was always a fake, they never dared to investigate anything at all, and they’re covering each other up because they’re completely up to their necks in it,” Itai Hagman, an economist and member of the Chamber of Deputies of Argentina, said  in a May 20 X post.

Milei still damaged his image

Data from polling platform Zuban Córdoba in March suggested that the Libra scandal negatively impacted Milei’s image  and the national management approval rating.

The latter of those metrics fell from 47.3% in November to 41.6% in March after 1,600 respondents were asked whether Milei still has their trust after the incident.