A US court rejected a seizure request by international investment funds that sought to link crypto funds linked to the LIBRA scandal to the Argentine State. 

Instead, a judge noted that the evidence pointed toward private individuals as the parties controlling the funds. The conclusion further complicated the involvement of Argentine President Javier Milei, his sister Karina, and LIBRA promoter Hayden Mark Davis.

Judge Points Finger at Milei Insiders

This week, Federal Judge Jennifer Rochon in the Southern District of New York denied a request by international investment funds that had attempted to seize LIBRA cryptocurrency assets by linking them to the Argentine State.

Rochon argued that the evidence was insufficient to prove state ownership. Instead, she suggested that the millions generated by LIBRA could belong to Milei, his sister and Secretary General Karina Milei, or Mark Hayden Davis, who helped launch and promote the meme coin.

The ruling frustrated the funds’ attempt to locate assets to recover a loan to Argentina after the country suffered an acute economic crisis in 2001.

The asset seizure case is legally distinct from the civil class-action lawsuit filed against Milei by retail investors over their $251 million in losses. Nonetheless, it still highlights and complicates his connection to the broader scandal.

Why Foreign Creditors Tried Seizing LIBRA Assets

The request to Rochon represented a calculated move by four major investment funds seeking to get paid for a major debt.

Palladian Partners, HBK Master Fund, Hirsh Group, and Virtual Emerald International Limited comprise the four financial firms that own bonds that were part of the major debt restructuring following Argentina’s massive 2001 sovereign default. 

Specifically, they hold GDP-linked securities, which promise creditors a payout if Argentina’s economy grows above a certain threshold. In 2019, these funds sued Argentina in a UK court, arguing that the country had incorrectly calculated its GDP to avoid triggering the payment on these bonds.

In 2023, the court ruled in the funds’ favor, ordering that Argentina pay them over $1.5 billion in debt owed. However, since then, Argentina has failed to do so.

In light of this, the funds have launched a global campaign to locate and seize any assets belonging to the Argentine State that they could find in other countries.

Following the LIBRA scandal, the funds have sought to justify the seizure of millions of dollars generated by insiders due to the token launch.

Creditors’ Crypto Bid Backfires on Milei

The four international investment funds targeted the LIBRA scandal because it was a new, high-value asset that Milei strongly promoted.

In their latest appeal before the Southern District of New York, these funds needed to prove that the billions generated by the token belonged to the Argentine state, not to private individuals.

If they could prove this, they could legally try to seize the LIBRA profits to cover their debt. The funds requested extensive documentation from Meteora, the Solana platform that launched LIBRA. They also demanded testimony from several individuals to prove their cause.

However, the fruits of their efforts actually backfired.

Judge Rochon rejected the funds’ request because the creditors failed to provide enough credible information to justify involving the US court system in a dispute primarily concerning a foreign state and foreign creditors.

The funds were criticized for engaging in a “fishing excursion,” meaning they were not seeking specific, relevant evidence. Instead, they used the court’s power to conduct a speculative investigation into the entire cryptocurrency operation.

She noted specifically that their evidence pointed to private ownership, further complicating Milei’s participation in the scandal.