Argentine prosecutors will investigate President Javier Milei for promoting a cryptocurrency that collapsed, local media reported.

Federal prosecutors will examine whether Milei engaged in fraud, criminal association or breached his duties when he praised the $LIBRA cryptocurrency on social media.

The currency's value soared, then crashed, and Milei deleted his blessing hours later and admitted he made a mistake.

Argentine economists, crypto specialists and opposition political figures criticized the self-proclaimed "anarcho-capitalist" president, an economist by training, and said the digital asset could be a scam or a Ponzi scheme.

Industry observers said the operation was likely a "rug-pulling" scam in which developers unveil a crypto token, solicit investors and then quickly withdraw money.

The nonprofit Observatory for City Law, one of several complainants, alleged that Milei was part of a "criminal organization that orchestrated the $LIBRA cryptocurrency scam, which simultaneously affected over 40,000 people with losses of over $4 billion."

Former president and opposition member Christina Kirchner called Milei a "crypto-fraudster," and opposition parliamentarians announced they would begin impeachment proceedings against him. Other parties are calling for a special parliamentary committee to question Milei. | BGNES, AFP