Argentine judge drops LIBRA case against Milei, 10 others

An Argentine federal judge has dismissed the criminal investigation into President Javier Milei and 10 other people over the LIBRA cryptocurrency, which lost more than 90 per cent of its value shortly after Milei promoted it online in February 2025.

Judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi issued the ruling on Friday, Oct. 23, after prosecutor Eduardo Taiano asked for the case to be closed. It ends a probe of about 20 months in which, according to Crypto Briefing and KuCoin News, none of the people investigated was formally questioned.

Also dismissed was Milei’s sister Karina Milei, the presidential chief of staff, along with U.S. businessman Hayden Davis, who has described himself as LIBRA’s launch adviser, and intermediary Mauricio Novelli. Davis has denied wrongdoing.

The judge found no evidence of a fraudulent scheme. He wrote that the token’s collapse alone did not prove a deceptive act that induced investors to buy, and that the reported events “do not fall under a legal category,” according to Just Security’s Oct. 26 roundup, which cited BBC News. Official status, public attention or trust alone do not amount to a fraudulent scheme, the ruling said, according to KuCoin News. He acknowledged that Milei’s position as president could have amplified interest in the token.

On Karina Milei, the judge found the evidence that she received payments to arrange meetings with businesspeople tied to the project insufficient. Arranging a meeting does not, in itself, constitute influence peddling, the ruling said.

Milei has said he acted in good faith. “I was not aware of the details of the project and once I found out, I decided to not continue giving it publicity,” he said, as quoted by Crypto Briefing. In an earlier television interview he said: “I didn’t promote it, I merely shared it.”

The ruling does not undo the losses. LIBRA launched on the Solana blockchain on Feb. 14, 2025, the evening Milei posted about it on X. Its market value peaked at roughly US$4.6 billion before the price fell by more than 90 per cent. Blockchain analytics firm Nansen estimated that about 114,000 wallets lost roughly US$251 million, and that about 86 per cent of participants lost money, figures reported by KuCoin News that we have not independently verified. Crypto Briefing reported that about US$99 million was withdrawn from the token’s liquidity pools through eight wallets linked to its creator.

Opposition lawmakers had pursued impeachment proceedings citing a possible “rug pull,” in which a token’s backers drain funds and leave investors with worthless coins, and the government’s Anti-Corruption Office also examined the matter. Milei dissolved a special government unit set up to investigate the affair on May 19, 2025.

A related U.S. case has also stalled. On Oct. 2, U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rochon dismissed a class action against Kelsier Ventures, Meteora and developer Benjamin Chow and denied the plaintiffs’ request to amend their complaint, KuCoin News reported.

Milei’s government has faced other pressure at home. Argentine police fired tear gas at a university funding march this month, as we reported on Oct. 16. In neighbouring Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won re-election in a runoff on Oct. 25, as we reported.

No Canadian victims or Canadian government response have been reported in the case. The ruling does not reverse the investors’ losses, and Canadian readers who hold crypto assets should note that a dismissal on criminal-fraud grounds does not mean the token’s buyers were compensated.

It is not yet clear whether prosecutors or private complainants will appeal the dismissal. Argentina’s opposition had earlier warned of impunity in the case, according to the Buenos Aires Herald.

Via BBC News (through Just Security), Crypto Briefing and KuCoin News.

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