MONTEVIDEO (AP) — Lawyers from Argentina have brought forth fraud allegations against President Javier Milei in a criminal court on Sunday, linked to a cryptocurrency promotion he shared on social media, as reported to The Associated Press by one of the attorneys involved.

On Friday, Milei took to X to announce the launch of $LIBRA, a digital currency intended to “drive economic growth by supporting small businesses and startups.” However, he removed the post just hours later, leading to a dramatic drop in the coin’s value, which reportedly resulted in millions of dollars lost among its short-term investors, according to financial site Dexscreener.

The currency was created by KIP Protocol and Hayden Davis and could be acquired via a link that directed users to vivalalibertadproject.com, a nod to the popular phrase Milei often uses to wrap up his speeches and messages.

The President’s Office issued a statement on Saturday, asserting that Milei played no role in the cryptocurrency’s development and took down the post to prevent speculation and minimize additional exposure following public backlash surrounding the project’s launch.

Jonatan Baldiviezo, a lawyer among the plaintiffs, expressed concerns about a potential “illicit association” aimed at executing “an indeterminate number of frauds” tied to this incident. He explained, “The crime of fraud occurred within this illicit association, where the president’s actions were critical.”

Baldiviezo co-signed the complaint with lawyer Marcos Zelaya, engineer María Eva Koutsovitis, and economist Claudio Lozano, who previously led the Argentine Central Bank during Alberto Fernández’s presidency. The criminal justice system is anticipated to assign a judge to the case or refer it to a prosecutor for further investigation on Monday.

The plaintiffs likened Milei’s actions to a common fraud scheme in the cryptocurrency realm known as a “rug pull,” where developers create enticing tokens to attract investors and then abandon the project after inflating its value, rendering the tokens worthless. Baldiviezo also noted that Milei violated the Public Ethics Law.

The President’s Office defended Milei, stating, “The President regularly shares posts on his personal accounts promoting the initiatives of numerous entrepreneurs aiming to launch projects in Argentina to generate jobs and attract investment.” After deleting the controversial post, Milei remarked on X that he was unaware of the coin’s development and suggested that political adversaries were attempting to manipulate the situation. “I was not informed about the project details, and once I was, I chose not to promote it further (which is why I deleted the tweet),” he explained.

The President’s Office also indicated that the Anti-Corruption Office, operating under the Executive Branch, would take immediate action. Furthermore, they acknowledged that Milei and his team recently held discussions with KIP Protocol representatives at the presidential office.

“All information gathered during the investigation will be presented to the judiciary to ascertain if any individuals or companies involved with the KIP Protocol project have committed a crime,” stated the Milei administration in their Saturday announcement.

In a video shared on his social media account, Hayden Mark Davis, a representative of KIP Protocol who met with Milei, attributed the cryptocurrency’s failure to the president’s actions. “Despite prior agreements, Milei and his team unexpectedly shifted their stance, retracting their support and deleting all prior social media posts,” Davis stated.