LIBRA and MELANIA Meme Coins Highlighted Potential Money Laundering Involving Insiders Linked to Political Figures

Recent scrutiny on LIBRA and MELANIA meme coin highlighted potential money laundering involving insiders linked to political figures.

Recent scrutiny on LIBRA and MELANIA meme coin has highlighted potential money laundering activity involving insiders linked to political figures.

Insiders from the LIBRA and MELANIA teams engaged in a dubious financial maneuver. They purchased 19,846 SOL, valued at approximately $2.76 Million, for POPE, a low-capacity meme coin. They subsequently sold the asset for a mere 175 SOL, at an estimated price of $24K, signifying a staggering $2.73M deficit.

Initially, large sums of SOL were seen transferring between wallets. These wallets are recognized by crypto analytics platforms like Tokenpocket and BeChain to belong to the LIBRA and MELANIA team members.

This series of transactions, beginning with the massive purchase of POPE for 19,846 SOL and culminating in its rapid disposal, was witnessed and documented by several crypto analytics platforms.

How Is Money Laundered Through Crypto?

The insider whales are effectively laundering their gains through a series of meme coin trades and cross-chain transfers.

Instead of simply selling tokens on one chain and keeping the proceeds in one wallet – easily traced to the project team – they are using obfuscation techniques. They sniped their own launch and disguised as market profits. Then move funds through multiple wallet addresses and cross-chain transfer protocols. Afterward, they split the loot among many addresses and convert it to Stablecoins and cash-out.

Why Is This Suspicious?

This loss was not a simple misjudgment in trading; it appears to be a calculated move to funnel funds discreetly to various wallets, characterized by 'legal' transfers.

The massive financial loss is suspicious, especially considering the minimal impact on the POPE token price and the timing of these transactions.

These activities could have broader implications, especially considering the ties of these coins to influential political figures.

The potential for regulatory scrutiny is high. Regulators might view these transactions as manipulative market behaviors or worse, money laundering.

Conversely, if the transactions are scrutinized and found to be within legal boundaries, it could lead to discussions on the adequacy of current regulations surrounding cryptocurrency transactions, insider activities, and the potential for abuse.

This situation is a prime example of the complexities and regulatory challenges cryptocurrencies face, especially those associated with high-profile individuals.