In Argentina, a federal court has closed the criminal inquiry into President Javier Milei and his sister Karina over the collapse of the $Libra cryptocurrency, after prosecutors asked for the case to be dropped. The judge found no criminally relevant deception had been proven, a conclusion that settles the legal question while leaving untouched the losses of ordinary investors who bought in during a single February afternoon. It is a familiar pattern in the history of speculative markets: a promise made in public, a surge of trust, and then a reckoning that the law may not be able to measure.
Argentina Drops Criminal Probe into President Milei and Sister Over $Libra Crypto Collapse
Many investors lost most of their money when the $Libra coin crashed shortly after its promotion.
He said he had not promoted it, only shared it
Mark
So what exactly happened in court this week?
Mimi
A federal judge, Marcelo Martinez de Giorgi, dismissed the criminal case against President Milei and his sister Karina. Prosecutors had asked him to.
Mark
What was the reasoning?
Mimi
He said the reported events don't fall under a legal category, and that no criminally relevant deception had been proven.
Luke
Worth noting that's a finding about what could be proven as a crime, not a finding that nothing went wrong. The source doesn't say the judge examined the investors' losses in any detail.
Mark
And the losses were real?
Mimi
Yes. The coin jumped after Milei shared a buy link, then fell within hours of him deleting the post. Most investors lost most of their money.
Luke
The report says the majority of investors, but gives no total figure. I'd treat any specific number as unconfirmed here.
Mark
Milei's defense?
Mimi
He said he only shared it, didn't promote it, acted in good faith, and that investors went in voluntarily and knew the risks.
Luke
Those are his statements. The ruling doesn't necessarily endorse them. And he hadn't responded to this news when it was reported.
Mark
What's still open?
Mimi
The Anti-Corruption Office was announced as the body to assess whether he acted improperly. The report doesn't say what, if anything, it has concluded.
Le Pouls
- A single X post sent the $Libra coin soaring, then the deletion of that post sent it into a nosedive within hours.
- Most of the people who bought in lost the bulk of their savings, and the anger spread quickly into Congress.
- Opposition lawmakers readied impeachment proceedings while critics circulated the term "rug pull" across social media.
- Milei insists he only shared the coin, acted in good faith, and that buyers understood the risks, a defense the court has now accepted.
- The criminal track is closed, but the Anti-Corruption Office review remains open and the question of who pays for the losses is still unresolved.
In Argentina, a federal court has closed the criminal inquiry into President Javier Milei and his sister Karina over the collapse of the $Libra cryptocurrency, after prosecutors asked for the case to be dropped. The judge found no criminally relevant deception had been proven, a conclusion that settles the legal question while leaving untouched the losses of ordinary investors who bought in during a single February afternoon. It is a familiar pattern in the history of speculative markets: a promise made in public, a surge of trust, and then a reckoning that the law may not be able to measure.
A federal judge in Argentina has closed the criminal investigation into President Javier Milei and his sister Karina over the collapse of the cryptocurrency $Libra. Judge Marcelo Martinez de Giorgi dismissed the case at prosecutors' request, writing that the events did not fall under a criminal category and that no criminally relevant deception had been proven. Milei had not responded when the news broke.
The story began in February 2025, when the president posted on X about the newly launched coin, claiming it would help fund small businesses and start-ups, and linked to a page where people could buy it. The price jumped. A few hours later he deleted the post, the coin plunged, and most of those who had bought in lost most of their money.
The fallout spread from wallets into politics. Opposition lawmakers prepared impeachment proceedings, and online critics called it a "rug pull." Milei denied any fraud, saying he had only shared the coin, had not known the project's details, and stopped promoting it once he learned more. He argued that investors had acted voluntarily and understood the risks. The presidential office said he had no role in developing the token and announced that the Anti-Corruption Office would examine his conduct.
With the dismissal, the criminal case ends, but the people who lost their money still have no answer, and the Anti-Corruption Office review and the reactions of Milei and his opponents remain the threads to follow.
A federal judge in Argentina has closed the criminal investigation into President Javier Milei and his sister, Karina Milei, over the collapse of a cryptocurrency called $Libra. Judge Marcelo Martinez de Giorgi dismissed the case at the request of prosecutors, according to court records.
In his ruling, the judge wrote that the reported events do not fall under a legal category, and he concluded that no criminally relevant deception had been proven. Milei had not responded to the news at the time of the BBC's report.
The case traces back to February 2025, when the president posted on X about the newly launched $Libra coin. He said at the time that it would help fund small businesses and start-ups. He also shared a link through which people could buy it, and the coin's price shot up.
Within a few hours, Milei deleted the post. The coin then nosedived, and investors lost most of their money. The majority of those who had bought in suffered large losses.
The fallout was political as well as financial. Opposition members of Congress planned impeachment proceedings. Some people online accused Milei of a "rug pull," a scheme in which promoters draw buyers into a cryptocurrency, then halt trading and walk away with the money raised from sales.
Milei denied acting fraudulently. In an interview with the local outlet Todo Noticias, he said he had not promoted the coin but had merely shared it. He maintained that he acted in good faith. Explaining why he removed the post, he said he had not known the details of the project and, after learning about it, decided not to keep promoting it. In a separate TV interview, he argued that those who invested in $Libra had done so voluntarily and understood the risks.
The presidential office took a similar line, insisting that Milei had no involvement in developing $Libra. It also announced that the Anti-Corruption Office would examine whether the president had acted improperly.
The dismissal ends the criminal track, but it does not answer what happened to the investors who lost money. The Anti-Corruption Office review, announced at the time, is the other thread to watch, along with any reaction from Milei or the opposition lawmakers who once pushed for impeachment.
Citations marquantes
I didn't promote it, I merely shared it.— Javier Milei, in an interview with Todo Noticias
The reported events do not fall under a legal category.— Judge Marcelo Martinez de Giorgi
Envie de l'histoire complète ?
Lire l'original sur BBC News ↗
Politics & Governance