Argentine judge dismisses Milei $LIBRA criminal case before trial

Argentine federal judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi dismissed the criminal case against President Javier Milei, his sister Karina and nine others over the $LIBRA cryptocurrency on Friday, 23 October. The decision ends the proceedings against them in this case without a trial. It does not mean investors suffered no losses.

The investigation followed a post by Milei on X on 14 February 2025 promoting a project linked to $LIBRA. The token’s price rose sharply, then collapsed within hours. Complaints alleged fraud and questioned whether officials had improper dealings with people behind the project.

The judge granted a request by prosecutor Eduardo Taiano to dismiss the case. In accounts of the ruling published by Palabras del Derecho, Infobae and EFE, he found that the investigation had not established the elements needed for the alleged offences. A presidential endorsement, a price surge and subsequent losses were not, on their own, enough to prove fraud: that required evidence of a specific deception that led people to buy the token and caused their losses. The judge also found insufficient evidence that Karina Milei was paid to arrange meetings with the president.

The inquiry examined more than the token’s price movements. EFE and El País reported that investigators recovered a draft contract involving Milei and $LIBRA creator Hayden Davis, valued at about $5 million, from the phone of a person under investigation. Infobae reported that the judge found no documentation establishing a confidential agreement between the two.

Milei welcomed the decision and accused his critics of using the case for political ends. Opposition lawmaker Maximiliano Ferraro, who had sought an investigation, accused the judge and prosecutor of disregarding evidence. Those claims do not change what the court decided, but the case’s procedural aftermath is not yet settled: Infobae reported that requests to reinstate investors excluded as parties were pending before a federal cassation court.