An Argentine federal judge has ordered urgent action to identify and freeze crypto wallets tied to post-launch movements of the Libra token, a case that has drawn attention because the asset was promoted on social media by President Javier Milei. The measure follows a cybercrime tracing report that linked part of the money flow to major centralized exchanges.
Judge Orders Wallet Identification
Federal Judge Marcelo Martinez ordered the urgent identification of the owners of 25 wallets and the freezing of funds moved after Libra’s launch. The investigation is focused on the token’s rollout and the subsequent movement of proceeds from token sales.
According to the case record described in the source report, the order came after work by the Federal Police’s Cybercrime Technical Department, which began tracing the flow of funds across multiple crypto networks in May. Several wallets linked to Libra were identified and frozen as part of that effort.
Police Report Tracks Early Wallet Activity
The cybercrime report said eight wallets labeled as part of the “Libra team” were directly involved in the token launch after Milei’s promotion of the project on social media. Investigators also flagged a pattern in which four addresses consolidated almost $57 million into a single wallet.
That wallet was blocked and later released by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, which found that the funds were no longer at risk of dissipation. The report further alleged that the wallet then mixed funds through several additional wallets, complicating the tracing process.
Exchange Links May Aid Identification
One movement on May 10 sent nearly $500,000 through an interoperability protocol into a Tron address, according to the report. Investigators said the wallet behind that address attempted to obscure its transaction trail.
Even so, they traced 17 movements and found that at least 10 passed through Binance. The report also linked eight wallets to Bybit, two to OKX and two to Bitfinex. Because most centralized exchanges maintain know-your-customer controls, those links could help identify the users behind about $8.2 million in funds.
The report also noted uncertainty: some institutions may not require customer identification for such operations, which could limit the usefulness of exchange records in certain cases.
Funds Said to Be Held by Libra Trust
The source report said the remaining funds are now managed by a Libra Trust. That entity reportedly plans to distribute the money as grants to Argentine companies before November, with 71 applications already awaiting approval.
The court order marks a new step in the effort to map who controlled the wallets involved in Libra’s launch and subsequent transfers. For now, the case centers on preserving assets and establishing ownership, while investigators continue to piece together how the funds moved across networks and through exchange accounts.
Source: news.bitcoin.com