Argentine justice has taken decisive steps in the investigation of the high-profile LIBRA token case. Federal Judge Marcelo Martinez de Giorgi, at the request of prosecutor Eduardo Taiano, ordered the freezing of 25 crypto wallets linked to this project. Simultaneously, the court ordered six international exchanges to disclose the identities of the owners of these wallets and provide a complete transaction history.
This decision is not a mere formality. It demonstrates that Argentine authorities are seriously pursuing the investigation into the alleged fraud, which could have affected tens of thousands of people. The ruling is based on a technical report from the cybercrime division of the Argentine Federal Police (PFA), which essentially served as key evidence for the court.
Which exchanges are under scrutiny?
The list of platforms required to cooperate with the investigation is impressive in its scope. It includes ten addresses on Binance, eight on Bybit, two addresses each on OKX and CoinEx, and one each on FixedFloat and Bitfinex. From each exchange, the judge demanded a complete set of KYC data: account opening documents, internal records, IP address logs, linked bank accounts, and a comprehensive history of all transactions.
The reason for such a broad request is the lack of a clear cryptocurrency regulator in Argentina. The judge emphasizes that these measures are necessary to avoid irreparable damage that would be impossible to compensate later. The main goal is to prevent the withdrawal or concealment of assets that could be deemed proceeds of crime.
The technical side of the investigation
The investigation reconstructed the flow of funds using reverse tracing and open-source intelligence (OSINT) analysis. It was found that assets moved from a group of wallets called Team Libra Wallets. Between February 14 and 15, 2025, millions of tokens were transferred from them, which then ended up in a common intermediate wallet.
The culmination was a large withdrawal of funds on May 10, 2026. Through a compatibility protocol, 498,539.85 USDT arrived in a wallet on the Tron network. The operation was completed in just 16 seconds, bypassing traditional exchanges. After that, a smurfing scheme was launched — the daily distribution of fragmented amounts across numerous wallets to hinder tracking.
How it began
As a reminder, it all started with a post by Argentine President Javier Milei on social network X on February 14, 2025. Following this, the price of the LIBRA token skyrocketed from $0.01 to nearly $5 within hours, then collapsed amid sales by the project's creators. According to the investigation, over 40,000 people were affected, and the fund withdrawal amounted to about $100 million. Among the accused are lobbyist Mauricio Novelli, his partner, and American Hayden Davis.
Analyst's comment: This case is a vivid example of how the lack of clear regulation and hype around political figures can be exploited for large-scale manipulation. The freezing of wallets on major exchanges sends a powerful signal to the market: even decentralized assets cannot guarantee anonymity in the face of a coordinated international investigation.