LIBRA Crypto Scandal Spots Another Clue: $500K Transfers to Milei

LIBRA Coin Scandal: New York Court Will Review $280M Frozen Assets

This case begins with a crypto entrepreneur, Hayden Davis, who is under investigation in New York for the LIBRA crypto scandal. As of now, he admitted that LIBRA was just a memecoin and is not promoted for the purpose of investment. However, this statement contradicts the previous statements given by Argentina's President Milei, who promoted the token. On the same day (January 30), during the meeting in Casa Rosada, Hayden links his crypto wallet and transfers $500K to Milei's account, which sparks the controversy. The New York court finds this transfer suspicious and will review the $280M in frozen assets on 19th August. 

Let’s focus on the current findings of the case. 

Davis and two other suspects, Benjamin Chow and Julian Peh, are under investigation for an alleged scam on the $LIBRA token. The case is about the frozen money of $280M,  considered to be the ascending and descending profits of the token. An important court hearing will be held on August 19 in New York to determine where these funds will go.

The case was initiated by a private investor, Omar Hurlock, who says that he lost money because of the token launch. Nevertheless, the legal team claims that Hurlock cannot prove that he was directly damaged and even bought the token.

Below X post reveals facts on LIBRA scandal:

Source: X

Key Points in Davis’s New Legal Argument

• Davis argues that $LIBRA is a memecoin and not promoted for investment purposes.

• Earlier, he had asserted that the token was to be used to finance Argentine businesses.

• According to the defence, such memecoins possess no value and are very volatile.

• The team accuses the lawyer of Hurlock of being a crypto ambulance chaser.

This shift in defence conflicts with the previous social media statements of President Milei, who claimed that the $LIBRA project would help small Argentine businesses and entrepreneurs. However, Milei removed these posts and disassociated herself from the project, claiming that she was not privy to the details.

Suspicious $500,000 Transfer During Meeting with Milei

In a meeting with President Milei and businessman Mauricio Novelli in the Casa Rosada (on January 30), a crypto wallet associated with Davis sent almost half a million dollars worth of USDC (a stablecoin) to the Kraken crypto exchange.

• yUBW wallet is linked to Hayden with a number of crypto deals.

• It was transferred at 2:00:35 p.m. during the meeting devoted to blockchain and decentralised technologies.

• This transfer is questioned since Kraken needs users to undergo a procedure of a so-called "Know Your Customer" (KYC), and this might expose details of the recipients of the transfer.

• A few hours later, Hayden transferred another $507,000 via the Bitget platform.

• The yUBW wallet is also connected to the transactions with the $MELANIA token, another crypto project created by Davis on the basis of the former U.S. First Lady Melania Trump. This token sale occurred in January, and the wallet received 4.9 million dollars worth of $MELANIA tokens.

What’s Next in the LIBRA Case?

The hearing scheduled on August 19 will be significant to determine the funds of 280 million that are frozen. The court in New York will hear arguments on the location of the jurisdiction of the case, with the lawyers of Davis wishing it to be transferred to Argentina or Texas. Evidence will also be presented to the court on the scam and the role of Hayden