Argentina’s Milei shuts down task force investigating LIBRA scandal

Published

6 months ago

May 20, 2025

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<div>Argentina's Milei shuts down task force investigating LIBRA scandal</div>

Argentine President Javier Milei has dissolved a task force established to investigate the fallout from LIBRA, the scandalous cryptocurrency project the head of state promoted on his social media channel before it crashed to zero.

The Investigative Task Force (ITU) was dissolved via a May 19 decree signed by Milei and Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona, government documents revealed.

“The Research Task Unit is dissolved” after completing its mandate, the translated version of the decree read.

The task force is being dissolved despite pressure from opposition groups, which are seeking to activate an investigative commission as soon as May 20, local media outlet Clarin reported.

Argentina's Milei shuts down task force investigating LIBRA scandal — *A screenshot of Milei’s tweet endorsing LIBRA. Source:* *TRM Labs*

Government officials established the UTI on Feb. 19, days after Milei promoted LIBRA on his official X account.

His endorsement briefly sent LIBRA soaring from practically worthless to $5 a token and a nearly $5 billion market capitalization, before quickly crashing to zero in what appeared to be a classic pump-and-dump scheme.

The fallout from LIBRA sparked allegations of insider trading and manipulation, with Milei caught in the crosshairs.

In addition to facing an investigation, Milei’s credibility suffered at home, with nearly 58% of Argentinians saying they no longer trust the president for his role in the scandal.

“I didn’t promote it, I shared it”

In a televised interview on Todo Noticias, Milei denied any wrongdoing for promoting the project, claiming that he merely shared information about a project that sought to help entrepreneurs access funding options.

“I saw a tool that could finance entrepreneurs, and I spread the word. I acted in good faith and took a hit,” he said, according to a translation of the interview.

Milei also downplayed investors’ losses, claiming that “at most” 5,000 people were affected — the vast majority of whom were Chinese and American. He claimed that only “four or five” Argentinans suffered losses.

Nevertheless, blockchain data reviewed by Cointelegraph revealed that more than 15,000 wallets sold LIBRA at a profit or loss of more than $1,000. More than 86% of wallets reported a loss totaling $251 million.

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MEV bot trial ends in mistrial after jury deadlock on brothers’ verdict

Published

6 hours ago

November 8, 2025

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MEV bot trial ends in mistrial after jury deadlock on brothers’ verdict

A New York jury was unable to reach a verdict in the case of Anton and James Peraire-Bueno, the MIT-educated brothers accused of fraud and money laundering related to a 2023 exploit of the Ethereum blockchain that resulted in the removal of $25 million in digital assets.

In a Friday ruling, US District Judge Jessica Clarke declared a mistrial in the case after jurors failed to agree on whether to convict or acquit the brothers, Inner City Press reported.

The decision came after a three-week trial in Manhattan federal court, resulting in differing theories from prosecutors and the defense regarding the Peraire-Buenos’ alleged actions involving maximal extractable value (MEV) bots.

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A MEV attack occurs when traders or validators exploit transaction ordering on a blockchain for profit. Using automated MEV bots, they front-run or sandwich other trades by paying higher fees for priority.

In the brothers’ case, they allegedly used MEV bots to “trick” users into trades. The exploit, though planned by the two for months, reportedly took just 12 seconds to net the pair $25 million.

In closing arguments to the jury this week, prosecutors argued that the brothers “tricked” and “defrauded” users by engaging in a “bait and switch” scheme, allowing them to extract about $25 million in crypto. They cited evidence suggesting that the two plotted their moves for months and researched potential consequences of their actions.

“Ladies and gentlemen, bait and switch is not a trading strategy,” said prosecutors on Tuesday, according to Inner City Press. “It is fraud. It is cheating. It is rigging the system. They pretended to be a legitimate MEV-Boost validator.”

In contrast, defense lawyers for the Peraire-Buenos pushed back against the US government’s theory of the two pretending to be “honest validators” to extract the funds, though the court ultimately allowed the argument to be presented to the jury.

“This is like stealing a base in baseball,” said the defense team on Tuesday. “If there’s no fraud, there’s no conspiracy, there’s no money laundering.”