An Argentine judge recently ordered the freezing of financial assets belonging to Hayden Mark Davis, CEO of Kelscher Ventures. He became closely associated with the launch of the LIBRA token, a project publicly supported by President Javier Millay.
Precautions are indefinite. This also applies to the two men identified as owners of wallets that received funds from Davis during significant periods of the LIBRA timeline.
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Prosecutors link Davis to Libra money trail
Federal judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi, who is overseeing the LIBRA case, on Thursday ordered the freezing of the property and financial assets of three key people involved in the token launch.
He also directed the National Securities Commission to warn virtual asset service providers and extend the freeze to companies operating in Argentina, according to an order reviewed by BeInCrypto.
The move targets American entrepreneur Davis, who met Milley several times at the presidential palace, Casa Rosada, during the company’s launch.
This also applies to Colombian international Fabio Camilo Rodríguez Blanco and 75-year-old Argentine Orlando Rodolfo Merino. Both were recently identified as owners of virtual wallets involved in transactions currently under judicial investigation.
This precautionary measure was issued at the request of Federal Prosecutor Eduardo Taiano. It was also supported by a technical report from an Argentine financial investigation and asset recovery agency.
The report recommended action against Mr. Davis, Mr. Rodriguez Blanco, and Mr. Merino to secure assets that may be related to the fraud. Prosecutors say the two men are suspected of brokering millions of dollars in transfers between Davis and two Argentine lobbyists closely connected to the Libra scandal, Mauricio Novelli and Manuel Terrones Godoy.
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Martinez de Giorgi cited strong evidence and the risk that defendants could conceal or transfer digital assets.
The discovery came to light after Congress’ LIBRA committee requested additional information from centralized exchanges.
Plaintiffs were then able to identify cryptocurrency wallets directly linking Davis to Novelli and Terrones Godoy. Another Bitget account was also discovered that was allegedly used to convert digital assets into cash.
According to the latest findings of the Prosecutor’s Office, Rodriguez Blanco has been identified as the owner of this Bitget account.
Investigators discovered that Rodriguez-Blanco acted as a facilitator in several major transactions related to suspicious cash transfers. These moves also align with key points in the LIBRA timeline. One such example occurred on February 17, when Novelli’s sister and mother were caught on surveillance camera pulling a bag from a Galicia Bank branch, just days after the LIBRA collapse.
Investigators also determined that Mr. Merino acted as a direct intermediary between Mr. Davis and the other individuals under surveillance.
Notably, prosecutors tracked a $507,500 transfer made through the Bitget platform on January 30th. The transfer came less than an hour after Millay posted a selfie with Davis from Casa Rosada after the official meeting.
The prosecutor’s office said the transfer may be an indirect payment to a government official. Investigators believe intermediaries exchanged the virtual currency for cash to obscure the trail of money and hide the identity of the ultimate recipient.
