LIBRA probe stalls after crypto tracking software free trial expires

Politicians in Argentina have called for the government agency probing the LIBRA scandal to be handed more resources after it was discovered that its free crypto tracking software has expired and not been renewed.

According to La Nación, four parliamentarians who originally contributed to a LIBRA investigative committee have called for Argentina’s Attorney General, Eduardo Casal, to allocate more resources to the Specialized Cybercrime Prosecutor’s Unit (UFECI).

This is upon the discovery that the UFECI is lacking the resources and technical licenses to carry out its LIBRA cryptocurrency tracing. 

When federal prosecutor Eduardo Taiano called for the UFECI investigation, the body was able to trace 74 digital wallets collectively buying $13 million worth of LIBRA before the token’s promotion by Argentine President Javier Milei. 

Read more: US judge won’t restrict LIBRA funds as new trust site emerges

However, La Nación sources claim that the UFECI was dependent on a free trial for its LIBRA tracing that has since expired and not been renewed.

The investigatory body revealed the issue eight months after Taiano called for the probe. 

Sources claimed that the Attorney General’s Office was working on restoring the software license, but that there has been a significant “budget cut” and still no renewal of any subscription.

Expired software casts doubt over LIBRA probe’s efficiency

Parliamentarians Maximiliano Ferraro, Mónica Frade, Sabrina Selva, and Juan Marino, subsequently warned that a lack of resources “would pose a serious obstacle to clarifying the facts under investigation and could result in an effective denial of justice.”

On X, Civic Coalition ARI leader Ferraro criticised Taiano’s approach to the agency’s delays and claimed that they will lead to “impunity.” 

Read more: Javier Milei disbands crypto unit he set up to investigate himself

He said today, “Taiano has known that the UFECI cannot carry out the expert analyses he himself ordered on the crypto wallets linked to the $LIBRQ case due to a lack of resources and technological tools.”

He added that the probe’s slow pace, “with no interrogations, no witness testimonies, with delayed evidentiary measures and unfinished expert reports,” is making it “easier for potential defendants to coordinate stories, hide information, alter records or relevant evidence.”

Ferraro, Frade, Selva, and Marino joined four other politicians last April in accusing Taiano of misconduct and an unjustified “sequence of delays.”

Earlier this year, a report led by the Public Prosecutor’s Office discovered confidential blockchain advisory draft agreements between Libra co-creator Hayden Davis and Milei. 

Last December, a US judge refused to bar millions of LIBRA-linked funds from anonymization and conversion into privacy-focused cryptocurrencies. 

Minutes before this hearing took place, the Libra Trust website went live. Blockworks researcher Fernando Molina noted that the site was created five days after a prior freezing order was lifted, and once redirected users to a “pure nudism” blog.

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