The Argentine congressional fee investigating President Javier Milei revealed proof exhibiting that two months earlier than the LIBRA scandal, Milei had already participated in a virtually similar scheme.
The identical promoters who collaborated with Milei on LIBRA in February had been additionally concerned within the earlier KIP launch.
Earlier Scheme Surfaces
The most recent part of the LIBRA investigation uncovered Milei’s prior involvement in one other token launch that was related to figures already below scrutiny by Argentine authorities.
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At Tuesday’s congressional session in Buenos Aires, Maximiliano Ferraro, the chief of the investigative committee, pointed to the December debut of the KIP token, spearheaded by KIP Protocol founder Julian Peh.
Ferraro highlighted the involvement of buyers Mauricio Novelli and Manuel Terrones Godoy, key figures in each operations.
The fee additionally confirmed that knowledge from centralized exchanges revealed a direct cash path linking the identical people to the sooner KIP launch.
“The investigation recognized a pockets on the Gate.io change, belonging to Terrones Godoy, from which 59,992 USDT had been transferred to a Novelli account, beforehand linked to the $LIBRA rip-off. That very same night time, December 10, 2024, [Terrones] Godoy made further transfers from that account totaling greater than 92,000 USDT,” the press launch first accessed by BeInCrypto learn.
Ferraro additionally spotlighted the intensive ties that Novelli, Terrones Godoy, Peh, and Milei have maintained over the previous 12 months.
Connections Traced Again to the Tech Discussion board
Final October, the Buenos Aires metropolis authorities sponsored the Argentina Tech Discussion board. Throughout this occasion, Peh and Milei gave particular person conferences earlier than public officers and advisors near the President.
There, Peh was capable of set up contact with Milei and his sister Karina Milei.
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This institutional assist gave Peh’s KIP Protocol the credibility it wanted to launch the KIP token in December. The token debuted below a contract with Gate.io and was subsequently listed on KuCoin and MEXC.
The operation adopted the identical pump-and-dump mannequin later seen with LIBRA. They launched a token with no actual utility, leveraging political momentum to drive up its worth after which cashing out on the peak to safe large earnings.
In keeping with the data supplied by the platform, investigators detected that Terrones Godoy and Novelli each purchased KIP tokens earlier than the value surge. They then bought them to generate 600,000 {dollars} in a single day.
Ferraro additionally confirmed the motion of cash between Novelli and Terrones Godoy, occurring on the similar time.
“Terrones Godoy’s pockets acquired (with out paying for them) 6,750,000 KIP tokens and instantly started promoting them. Hours after initiating the liquidation, Terrones Godoy posted a tweet selling KIP. In complete, the account executed over 400 transactions and withdrew over 152,700 USDT in simply quarter-hour that night time, funds that embody the cash despatched to Novelli,” the fee’s press launch learn.
Milei additionally used the KIP launch as a testing floor, setting the stage for what would later unfold in a strikingly related method with the LIBRA launch in February.
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KIP Pilot as Check for LIBRA Launch
Two days earlier than the KIP launch, Milei shared a put up from Peh on social media saying that KIP Protocol had determined to put money into Argentina.
Martín Romeo, the plaintiff within the felony case towards Milei, claimed that the operation acted as a check to gauge how presidential endorsement might affect the value of a meme coin.
The consequence was speedy. When KIP launched, its worth skyrocketed, and Novelli and Terrones Godoy bought their KIP holdings.
“Every part we see at the moment with LIBRA began with KIP. A pilot-scale fraud that, months later, was repeated with political assist and thousands and thousands of {dollars} in misplaced investor cash,” Romeo stated in a social media put up, including, “Every part is documented. It began on the Tech Discussion board on the Libertador Resort.”
Different fascinating particulars concerning Peh additionally emerged throughout Tuesday’s congressional session.
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Proof of Id Fraud and Subsequent Steps
Ferraro and different committee members refloated the earlier discovery that KIP Protocol founder Julian Peh operated below a false id.
They confirmed that his actual identify is Peh Chnyi Haur, a Singaporean citizen who used the alias to attend October’s Tech Discussion board. Below this identify, Peh additionally met privately with Milei, participated in official conferences, circulated supposed authorities agreements, and signed paperwork.
When the courts sought info from Interpol Singapore, they discovered no information below his alias.
Ferraro additionally unveiled the subsequent steps that the congressional committee will take to analyze. Soliciting additional info from totally different platforms was among the many prime priorities.
“The Fee has requested Gate.io to establish the proprietor of one of many receiving accounts, which moved 120,000 USDT within the early morning when the $LIBRA rip-off was executed,” the press launch learn.
He added that congressional summonses for Novelli’s relations could be reissued in reference to safety footage exhibiting Novelli, his mom, and sister dealing with security deposit containers earlier than and after the token’s launch.
Ferraro additionally pledged to submit all proof collected by the congressional fee to the court docket dealing with the parallel felony investigation.