Argentine Judge Freezes Assets in Libra Meme Coin Scandal Amid Suspected Payments to Officials

An Argentine judge has ordered the freezing of funds associated with Hayden Davis, CEO of Kelsier Ventures, and two suspected intermediaries, Favio Camilo Rodríguez Blanco and Orlando Rodolfo Mellino, in connection with the Libra meme coin scandal. Investigators discovered that $507,500 was transferred by Davis via the Bitget cryptocurrency exchange just 42 minutes after President Javier Milei posted a selfie with Davis on social media, where Milei credited Davis for advising him on blockchain and AI.

The Argentine Prosecutor's Office suggested this transaction could constitute possible indirect payments to public officials, though no concrete evidence links the funds directly to Milei. Prosecutors argued that intermediaries may have acted as exit ramps to obscure the money trail. The asset freeze, based on a technical report from financial investigation units, will remain in place until the case is resolved.

Launched in February 2025, Libra was promoted as a fund for small businesses in Argentina and endorsed by President Milei, rapidly reaching a multi-billion dollar market capitalization before crashing by 90% within hours. Analytics firm Bubblemaps linked on-chain activity from LIBRA to the earlier launch of a meme coin associated with U.S. First Lady Melania Trump, which also saw a swift pump and dump.

The Argentine case focuses on Davis, lobbyists Mauricio Novelli and Manuel Terrones Godoy, and President Milei, with documents revealing discussions about monetizing Milei's image months before the token launch. In contrast, a parallel U.S. class-action lawsuit names Meteora co-founder Benjamin Chow as the alleged mastermind, downplaying Milei's direct involvement. U.S. courts previously froze $58 million in crypto linked to Davis and Chow in May 2025 but unfroze the funds in August due to judicial skepticism about the case's success.