El Salvador Court Receives Complaints About Citizen Complaints On Bitcoin Application

The application of bitcoin in El Salvador, citizens began to complain. (photo: undsplash)

JAKARTA – The court of El Salvador, which oversees its public resources, will investigate complaints about government purchases of bitcoin and the construction of kiosks for cryptocurrency ATMs.

El Salvador this month became the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as a legal tender, a move championed by the country's popular President Nayib Bukele.

The government has also launched a digital wallet, Chivo, which is linked to a newly built cryptocurrency engine that allows users to withdraw physical money from their digital bitcoin holdings. Its launch was interrupted by glitches.

The Court of Accounts, which can impose administrative and asset sanctions on officials who cannot resolve shortfalls, said it received a complaint on Sept. 10 from regional human rights and transparency organization Cristosal about bitcoin's implementation in El Salvador.

Cristosal requested an audit of the authorization process for bitcoin purchases and to review the construction of booths used for ATMs linked to digital wallets Chivo, a company founded with public resources.

Cristosal's complaint was addressed to the six members of the Board of Directors of the Bitcóin Trust, consisting of members of the Ministry of Finance and Economy, as well as the Secretariat of Trade and Investment.

"After acknowledging the complaint, it will proceed to conduct a legal analysis report and, when appropriate, forward the report to the General Audit Coordination," the Court of Accounts said in an official document reviewed by Reuters.

A Cristosal official, who was not authorized to speak on the matter, confirmed that the complaint had been received.

In addition to the sanctioning official, the Court of Accountants is authorized to notify the Attorney General's Office to initiate criminal proceedings if irregularities are found in their investigation. But President Bukele's government did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.