Argentina Freezes Hayden Davis’ Assets as LIBRA Probe Closes In on Milei’s Inner Circle

An Argentine judge recently ordered the freezing of financial assets belonging to Kelsier Ventures CEO Hayden Mark Davis. He has become inextricably associated with the LIBRA token launch, a project publicly endorsed by President Javier Milei.

The precautionary measure is indefinite. It also applies to two men identified as owners of wallets that received funds from Davis during key periods of the LIBRA timeline.

Prosecutors Link Davis to LIBRA Money Trail

Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi, the federal judge overseeing the LIBRA case, ordered on Thursday the freezing of all property and financial assets belonging to three key figures in the token’s launch. 

He also directed the National Securities Commission to alert virtual asset service providers and extend the freeze to those operating in Argentina, according to the order reviewed by BeInCrypto.

The measure targets Davis, the American entrepreneur who met with Milei several times at the Casa Rosada, the presidential office, around the time of the launch. 

It also applies to Colombian national Favio Camilo Rodríguez Blanco and 75-year-old Argentine Orlando Rodolfo Mellino. Both were recently identified as the owners of virtual wallets involved in transactions now under judicial investigation.

The precautionary measure was issued at the request of federal prosecutor Eduardo Taiano. It was also backed by a technical report from Argentina’s financial investigation and asset recovery agencies. 

The report recommended action against Davis, Rodríguez Blanco, and Mellino to secure assets potentially linked to the fraud. According to prosecutors, the two allegedly facilitated multimillion-dollar transfers between Davis and the two Argentine lobbyists closely related to the LIBRA case, Mauricio Novelli and Manuel Terrones Godoy.

Martínez de Giorgi cited strong evidence and the risk that the defendants might hide or transfer the digital assets.

Intermediaries Used to Mask LIBRA Cash Flows

The finding came after Congress’s LIBRA Commission requested additional information from centralized exchanges. 

Complainants were then able to identify a cryptocurrency wallet that directly linked Davis to Novelli and Terrones Godoy. They also found another Bitget account reportedly used to convert digital assets into cash.

According to the prosecutor’s office’s latest findings, Rodríguez Blanco has been identified as the owner of this Bitget account. 

Investigators found that Rodríguez Blanco served as an intermediary in several major transactions linked to suspicious cash transfers. These movements also aligned with crucial points in the LIBRA timeline. One such instance occurred on February 17, when security cameras captured Novelli’s sister and mother withdrawing bags from a Banco Galicia branch just days after the LIBRA collapse.

Investigators also determined that Mellino served as a direct go-between for Davis and other figures under scrutiny. 

Notably, prosecutors traced a $507,500 transfer made through the Bitget platform on January 30. The transfer took place less than an hour after Milei posted a selfie with Davis from the Casa Rosada, following an official meeting.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the transfers may represent indirect payments to government officials. Investigators believe the intermediaries converted cryptocurrency into cash to obscure the money trail and hide the identities of its final recipients.