Coin thief: Mealey could face criminal charges because of ties to scammers

Argentine President Javier Milay may face criminal proceedings and impeachment. He published in his social networks a call to invest in cryptocurrency, which, as it later turned out, was backed by fraudsters. More than 100 lawsuits from ordinary citizens have been filed with the law enforcement agencies of the South American state, meanwhile the number of victims is measured at least 40 thousand, and financial losses exceed $4 billion. The trust of citizens who are not part of the nuclear electorate of the Argentine, seriously shaken, according to the expert community. Izvestia reports on how Miley found himself one step away from impeachment and how the high-profile scandal will end.

Argentine leader faced the threat of a criminal case

Immediately four representatives of Argentine politics (including the leader of the opposition party Unidad Popular Claudio Lozano) called for a criminal investigation against President Javier Miley after he promoted on his page in X belonging to fraudsters cryptocurrency.

At the same time, more than 100 lawsuits from ordinary citizens have already been filed against the president on charges of fraud, as well as conducting activities incompatible with the position of a public servant, criminal conspiracy and other violations of the law. Prosecutor Eduardo Taiano and Judge Maria Servini were appointed to hear the lawsuits.

It all started last Friday, when the Argentine leader urged his subscribers to invest in a cryptocurrency with the name $Libra, consonant with the name of the libertarian party La Libertad Avanza ("Freedom is coming").

Within minutes, the price of the cryptocurrency rose to $5 and then fell below $1. A small group of cryptocurrency holders were able to make millions of dollars on the jump, while 40,000 Argentines lost their investments - losses exceeding $4 billion.

Expectedly, Miley deleted his tweet and in his defense began to say that he did not know that $Libra was owned by fraudsters. The presidential administration tried its best to justify Mealey's act, to the point that the libertarian's team began to argue that the cryptocurrency's advertising was nothing more than ordinary business support.

As it later became known, the Argentine presidential administration had a contract to cooperate with Kip Network, the company that owns the cryptocurrency, and by deleting the publication, Miley violated the terms of the agreement. According to the Argentine press, one of the creators of $Libra, Hayden Mark Davis, has visited the Latin American state several times over the past year, and was also in Buenos Aires at the end of January, where he personally met with Miley.

Moreover, following one of the meetings, the libertarian posted a photo with Davis on the Web with the caption "He advised me on the impact and application of blockchain technology and artificial intelligence in the country. We continue to work to accelerate Argentina's technological development." An official translator was also present at the presidential palace that day, as Davis is not fluent in Spanish.

Whether Javier Milay can get impeached

The Argentine opposition took advantage of the situation to once again criticize Milay's policies. Thus, in its statement, the Union for Homeland party called the president's involvement in the cryptocurrency scandal a serious crime and an unprecedented scandal. The bloc of deputies also decided to submit an impeachment motion against the president, according to a statement on the party's X page.

Former Vice President Cristina Kirchner, for her part, said that in the history of her country there has never been anything like this and that through Miley's fault Argentina has turned into a casino, where the role of croupier is played by the president himself.

- Now there is absolutely no doubt that public confidence in Miley is slightly shaken. His electoral core - those who have accompanied him since the first round of elections - will probably stay with him, but those who started to support him closer to the second round of elections will start to think twice. "Most of us have a clear understanding that if it wasn't a crime, it certainly wasn't the cleanest act," Dr. Juan Manuel Abal Medina, a professor at the University of Buenos Aires, explained to Izvestia.

According to him, in the short term, Miley is unlikely to face impeachment, but the investigation against him will definitely begin, and the longer it goes on, the greater the chances for the opposition to impeach him. The opposition plans to use the situation in its favor, particularly the Perronists and the left wing in general, he said.

Upon coming to power, Milei's goal was economic stability in the country. According to estimates by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC), at the same time as macroeconomic indicators stabilized, there was a marked increase in poverty. It reached its peak of 53% last year. This figure is 12% higher than the Russia-friendly government of Albert Fernandez had in 2023 and 18% higher than in 2019 under Mauricio Macri.

The high poverty rate has contributed to the Miley government's declining image. In October 2024, the overall approval rating of the Argentine president's administration reached 41.4%, Latin America's Zubán Córdoba calculated. 56.2% of Argentines in the same survey said their country was heading in the wrong direction.

At the same time, research by the U.S.-based Morning Consult puts Miley in the top three most popular presidents along with Indian leader Narendra Modi and Mexican head of state Claudia Sheinbaum.

Foreign media sources close to the Argentine president assure that impeachment is unlikely to come to this situation. In this regard, Argentine congressman Diego Santilli said that the opposition is taking advantage of the situation to overthrow the president.

In addition, Social Security Minister Patricia Bullrich spoke in defense of Milieu, saying that the president has full freedom of speech to bring up whatever topics he wants. And she compared his message in X to a first-person visit to a factory, saying that by showcasing the enterprise, the leader is not creating a lobby for it.