Argentina dissolves commission that probed Milei crypto affair
BUENOS AIRES: The Argentine government on Tuesday dissolved a commission it said had completed its mission of probing a suspected scam with a cryptocurrency that soared, then crashed, after it was backed by President Javier Milei.
Investors lost hundreds of millions of dollars on the $LIBRA meme coin that Milei hailed in a social media post in February, saying: 'The world wants to invest in Argentina. $LIBRA.'
Industry experts have called the operation a 'rug pull' -- a scam where developers unveil a crypto token, attract investors, then quickly cash out.
$LIBRA went from boom to bust in the space of a day, but Milei later claimed he 'did not know the details of the project.'
The presidency itself set up a commission to investigate the matter.
On Tuesday, in a notice published in the official gazette, the government said the commission was being dissolved after 'having fulfilled the task assigned to it.'
Its task had been to gather information from Argentina's National Securities Commission, Central Bank and other agencies to be submitted to the office of the chief prosecutor.
The notice did not specify what, if any evidence, the commission had found.
In April, Argentina's Congress set up a parliamentary inquiry into the matter, and summoned the economy and justice ministers to testify, though both excused themselves.
A judge tasked with investigating Milei's connection to $LIBRA in yet another probe ordered the Central Bank last week to provide information about banking operations by the president and his sister Karina Milei, who is also general secretary of the presidency.
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