✓ Verified by 5+ outlets
Argentine judge throws out LIBRA memecoin fraud case against President Milei and his sister
Summary
Federal judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi dismissed the criminal investigation into Argentine President Javier Milei and his sister Karina Milei over the LIBRA memecoin on Friday, Oct. 23, at the request of prosecutor Eduardo Taiano, according to court records cited by Reuters and the BBC.
The judge said the reported events "do not fall under a legal category" and that no criminally relevant deception had been proven, the BBC and AP reported; CoinDesk said he acknowledged Milei's endorsement could have given the launch "greater impact" but found that his post and the token's collapse were not enough to establish fraud.
CoinDesk, citing Infobae, said 11 people were cleared in all, including LIBRA adviser Hayden Davis, lobbyist Mauricio Novelli and KIP Protocol CEO Julian Peh, none of whom had been formally questioned.
Milei promoted the Solana-based token on X on Feb. 14, 2025, then deleted the post as it crashed, wiping out more than $250 million in investor wealth, according to CoinDesk; he has said he acted "in good faith."
The case may not be fully closed: investors removed as plaintiffs in July are challenging that removal before the Federal Criminal Cassation Court, and if reinstated they could appeal the dismissal, CoinDesk reported.
Updates
- Update, : Oct. 24: The Block reported details of the judge's 60-page ruling and said Milei cheered the dismissal in an X post Friday evening, calling the probe a "TREMENDOUS political and media operation." Maximiliano Ferraro, the opposition deputy who chaired Congress' LIBRA commission, called it a "planned judicial operation of cover-up and impunity." The Block put the amount cashed out by eight team-linked wallets at $107 million, citing onchain analysts, versus about $99 million in CoinDesk's report.
Key facts
- Blockchain researchers found that eight wallets linked to the token's creator withdrew around $99 million in crypto, and Davis said he held close to $100 million after the crash but denied wrongdoing, CoinDesk reported.
- The judge found no evidence that Karina Milei sought or received money for access to the president, or that LIBRA proceeds reached public officials, according to fact-checker Chequeado as cited by CoinDesk.
- The president's office said the dismissal showed the acts did not constitute a crime and called the probe an attempt to harm Milei's reputation in an election year, CoinDesk reported.
- Prosecutor Taiano, who requested the dismissal, is not expected to appeal, according to CoinDesk.
- The judge wrote that the notoriety of whoever promotes an asset and the publicity around a launch "do not, in themselves, amount to a fraudulent scheme," The Block reported.
- Forensic analysis confirmed a note on Novelli's phone describing three payments totaling $5 million had existed, but could not establish it was sent to Davis or anyone else, the judge wrote, per The Block.
- The token's market cap topped $4.5 billion before falling about 95% within hours, The Block said; it put team-linked wallet withdrawals at $107 million versus CoinDesk's roughly $99 million.
- Opposition deputy Maximiliano Ferraro, who chaired Congress' LIBRA commission, called the ruling a cover-up; the commission's November 2025 report, which found Milei provided "essential collaboration" to the project, is not mentioned in the ruling, The Block said.