Argentina’s Anti-Corruption Office has determined that President Javier Milei did not violate any ethics laws when he promoted the Solana-based LIBRA memecoin in February.
In a resolution issued on Friday, the office declared that Milei’s Feb. 14 X post constituted a personal statement rather than an official announcement as a public servant. Therefore, Milei’s post did not result in any ethics violations, the document signed by Alejandro Melik, head of the Anti-Corruption Office, stated.
The Anti-Corruption Office is a decentralized agency that reports to the Argentine Ministry of Justice. Its chief, Melik, was appointed by the Milei administration in December 2023.
The office had launched an investigation into whether Milei had engaged in any misconduct after the LIBRA token price rose and cratered within hours of his X post promoting the project. Milei himself had requested the investigation and even created a special task force he disbanded last month after it fulfilled its mandate to examine his ties to the LIBRA token.
The case is still being investigated by an Argentine federal court, which froze Milei and his sister’s assets amid the probe.
The LIBRA scandal
The scandal erupted when Milei published an X post that was largely construed as an endorsement by the Argentine President. The post that was deleted within six hours and contained links to the Viva La Libertad Project website and the token’s contract number, which helped investors find it on Solana, stated:
“This private project will be dedicated to stimulating the growth of the Argentine economy by funding small businesses and Argentine entrepreneurs.”
Immediately following Milei’s post, the price of LIBRA rose sharply to around $5, but tanked soon after. Several investors lost millions of dollars as the token’s value fell by around 95%. The scandal rocked the Argentine market, even leading to a stock market crash days later.
Immediately after the token lost value, triggering an uproar on social media, including allegations of insider trading, Milei deleted the post. In a new post on Feb. 15, he clarified that he had no ties to the project, but had decided to delete the previous post after learning about the details of the project.
On Feb. 18, Milei said that he “acted in good faith” when he “shared” the project, and had, therefore, “made no mistakes.” His intention was not to promote the memecoin but to raise awareness about an effort to support Argentine businesses using crypto.
The same day, however, a local media outlet reported that LIBRA co-creator Hayden Davis boasted about his ‘control’ over Milei, thanks to his donations to Milei’s sister, Karina Milei.
Public trust in Milei’s administration cratered after the scandal.
The findings of the Anti-Corruption Office
The Anti-Corruption Office classified Milei’s post as a personal, non-official activity by the President of Argentina. It reiterated that the post “did not imply any governmental activity” since it was published from Milei’s personal X account, which receives no official management contributions or public resources.
The resolution added that Milei’s X account, where he presents himself as an “economist” and not a public official, predates his term as a congressman. The bureau, therefore, declared that the post was an expression of his personal opinion, a civil and political right guaranteed by the constitution.
The conclusion was further strengthened by the fact that the message was not disseminated through any official governmental accounts. The document added:
“…the post under analysis did not refer to public policies, programs, government decisions, or announcements with legal or budgetary effects.”
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