How $LIBRA and $MELANIA Insiders Used $POPE to Launder Millions

The crypto ecosystem has recently turned against memecoins, creating a negative sentiment around them. One of the main reasons for this shift is the scams orchestrated by Kelsier, who launched memecoins like $MELANIA and $LIBRA.

According to our previous report, Kelsier made over $116 million in profit from these two memecoins, while regular investors suffered millions of dollars in losses. 

Now, the question arises: How do these insiders clean their illicit gains?

The answer lies in a common practice among bad actors—manipulated transactions and staged losses that help convert dirty money into “clean” funds.

This article exposes how $LIBRA and $MELANIA insiders laundered their profits using $POPE, a low-cap memecoin on Solana.

The POPE Laundering Scheme

According to Lookonchain, $LIBRA and $MELANIA insiders attempted to launder their profits by buying and selling $POPE tokens. Here’s how they did it:

• They spent over 19,846 SOL to buy POPE, despite the token’s market cap being only $150,000.

• 20 seconds later, they sold the tokens for 175 SOL, making it appear as if they had suffered a $2.73 million loss.

Price Manipulation and Low Liquidity

Looking at the $POPE price chart, we can see how the low liquidity in the pools caused the token’s price to surge 16x upon purchase. However, by the end of the one-minute candle, the price closed red. This suggests a well-planned price manipulation scheme.

Now, let’s dive into the onchain data to understand what really happened.

Where Did the 20,000 SOL Come From?

First, we need to investigate the source of the nearly 20,000 SOL used for this trade. Based on Arkham data, we can see that the following wallets transferred a total of 20,565 SOL to the address involved in the transaction:

Tracking these addresses and analyzing their onchain interactions, it becomes clear that they are connected to $LIBRA and $MELANIA insiders.

These insiders received significant amounts of SOL through multiple transactions and different wallets, which can be further investigated on Arkham.

The Role of MEV Bots in Trade Execution

Now, let’s analyze how the purchase was executed and what trading volume took place in the first few seconds after it.

• The buy transaction was executed by wallet Cbhv3FEDR8fbdKYzUHiYxwHMcixXBvTWtqe4yXjnmuB at 16:03:21 UTC on February 25.

• Since such a large trade on Solana is always monitored by MEV bots, an investigation reveals that at the exact moment of the transaction, a bot used a sandwich attack to generate a profit of 8,397 SOL.

Analyzing the trades executed within the critical 20-second window between the buy and sell, we can see a high volume of sales triggered immediately after the initial purchase, suggesting that POPE’s price spiked sharply due to sudden liquidity inflows, only to be followed by a rapid dump.

Breaking Down the Fake Loss

To get a clearer picture, if we filter out transactions below $10,000, considering them as regular trades, we arrive at a net amount of $1.5 million. Adding this to the $1.1 million profit made by the MEV bot, the total reaches $2.6 million.

This reveals the full scheme:

1. A large buy order was placed, artificially inflating POPE’s price 16x due to its $150,000 market cap.

2. Multiple wallets were used to sell POPE at a high volume.

3. The laundered money was withdrawn, disguised as a trading loss.

Final Thoughts

The $LIBRA and $MELANIA insider laundering operation is a clear example of how bad actors attempt to erase their traces on Solana using deceptive tactics. However, despite their efforts, onchain data makes it possible to track and expose their movements with ease.

The mentioned addresses can be thoroughly examined to determine whether they have been involved in similar activities with other tokens.

Initial investigations indicate that the addresses involved in selling $POPE have not yet targeted another token—at least as of now.

However, given the nature of these schemes, it is highly likely that the key players used intermediary and disposable wallets to obfuscate their tracks further. This calls for deeper analysis to uncover any additional connections and ensure that such fraudulent activities do not go unnoticed.

Stay vigilant and always follow the onchain data!

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Memecoins Are Not Securities - SEC Statement