Argentina Seeks Arrest of Hayden Davis in LIBRA Case
Date: 2025-03-14 Author: Henry Casey Categories: IN WORLD
Argentine prosecutor Gregorio Dalbon filed a request on March 13 to issue an Interpol “red notice” for the arrest of Hayden Davis, a U.S. citizen suspected of masterminding the launch of the LIBRA cryptocurrency. The token has received public support from Argentine President Javier Miley, Fortune reports.
Dalbon says Davis is a key figure in the creation of LIBRA, which is the basis for his immediate arrest. An Interpol red notice is an international search order that allows law enforcement agencies in member countries to arrest wanted individuals.
The LIBRA scandal erupted in mid-February after Javier Miley posted a message on X about the launch of a token on the Solana blockchain. Almost simultaneously, LIBRA appeared on the decentralized exchange Meteora, and its market cap reached $4.5 billion during the first hour of trading. However, within a few hours, the token's price fell by 95%, and by March 14, its capitalization had fallen to $15.5 million, according to CoinGecko.
According to analysts at Nansen, traders who bought LIBRA at the peak lost a total of $251 million, and 86% of investors recorded losses. Only a small group was able to make a profit, earning a total of $180 million. Shortly after the scandal erupted, Meteora co-founder Ben Chou announced his resignation.
The Argentine President tried to distance himself from the project, claiming that he had only spread information about LIBRA, and that the main investors were "Chinese and Americans." According to Miley, Argentine investors suffered minimal losses.
Meanwhile, journalists found out that Davis, in correspondence with investors, stated that he was transferring funds to the president's sister, Karina Miley, which could indicate possible influence on the head of state. In an interview with blogger Coffeezilla, Davis admitted that the project team used automatic token purchases in the first seconds of the launch, explaining this by "liquidity control." Later, he called this practice common when launching memecoins.
The Argentine Federal Prosecutor's Office is investigating possible fraud, corruption, and insider trading, studying the role of Miley and other organizers who could have earned more than $100 million. As part of the investigation, requests were sent to freeze assets on exchanges and crypto services.
On March 13, Dalbon argued in court that Davis was a flight risk because he had significant financial resources. In late February, the U.S. Department of Justice also launched an investigation into LIBRA, focusing on possible financial crimes related to its issuance and subsequent collapse.
