In a quiet courtroom decision, an Argentine federal judge has closed the criminal inquiry into President Javier Milei and his sister Karina over the collapse of the $Libra token, a meme coin he had promoted to his followers in February 2025. The judge found that the events did not amount to a crime, reasoning that investor losses and a rise and fall in price cannot by themselves prove fraud, even when a president's voice lends a post greater weight. It is a reminder of how easily public influence can be separated from legal culpability, and how a leader's reach can be both real and insufficien
Argentine Judge Drops Fraud Probe into Milei Over $Libra Crypto Collapse
Investor losses and a price rise and fall were not enough to establish fraud
Mark
A judge has closed the $Libra case against Milei and his sister. What did the ruling actually say?
Mimi
That the reported events are not a criminal offence, and that investor losses and the price rising and falling aren't enough to prove fraud.
Mark
But he did acknowledge the president's influence.
Mimi
Yes. He said Milei's institutional standing could have given the launch greater impact, but that doesn't turn it into a fraudulent scheme. Reach and fraud are separate questions.
Luke
Worth being careful there. The ruling says this wasn't a crime under the facts reported. That's not the same as saying nothing questionable happened.
Mark
The presidential office called it absolute proof of innocence.
Luke
That's the office's characterization, not the court's wording. The judge found no offence; the "coup" language is the government's own framing.
Mimi
And Hayden Davis was cleared too, though he's acknowledged holding close to $100m after the crash. He denies wrongdoing.
Luke
Holding that sum isn't what the ruling addressed as a crime, as far as we're told. We don't know what the judge said about how he came to hold it.
Mark
What's still unknown?
Luke
Whether anyone appeals, and how the opposition responds. The reporting doesn't say either.
Il Polso
- A federal judge has dropped the criminal probe into President Milei and his sister over the $Libra crash, sharply ending a case that had shadowed his government.
- Milei's February 2025 X post, later deleted, has been weighed against investor losses that left many holders stranded after a brief rally.
- The presidential office is pressing the advantage, calling the ruling absolute proof of innocence and demanding who will pay for the wasted probe.
- The case is closed for now, but opposition reaction and possible appeals keep the dispute alive in Buenos Aires and beyond.
In a quiet courtroom decision, an Argentine federal judge has closed the criminal inquiry into President Javier Milei and his sister Karina over the collapse of the $Libra token, a meme coin he had promoted to his followers in February 2025. The judge found that the events did not amount to a crime, reasoning that investor losses and a rise and fall in price cannot by themselves prove fraud, even when a president's voice lends a post greater weight. It is a reminder of how easily public influence can be separated from legal culpability, and how a leader's reach can be both real and insufficient to convict.
On Friday, an Argentine federal court closed the criminal investigation into President Javier Milei and his sister Karina over the collapse of a cryptocurrency he had promoted online. Judge Marcelo Martinez de Giorgi ruled that the reported events do not constitute a criminal offence, and that investor losses alone were not enough to establish fraud.
The case rested on a single post. In February 2025, Milei recommended the obscure $Libra meme coin to his followers on X. He later deleted it and denied any link to the token, which soon plunged. Milei said he had acted in good faith and accused rivals of exploiting the crash.
The judge acknowledged that Milei's institutional standing gave his post greater impact, but held that this amplification did not amount to a fraudulent scheme. US promoter Hayden Davis, who had called himself a launch adviser and acknowledged holding close to $100m after the crash, was also cleared. He denies wrongdoing.
The presidential office hailed the ruling as proof of innocence and asked who would answer for the taxpayer money and time spent on what it called a failed institutional coup. The decision lands as Milei, an ally of Donald Trump, faces a sharply contested record at home, where his austerity drive has cut jobs and subsidies while inflation has fallen to about 2 percent a month. The matter is settled in the government's eyes; what remains open is the opposition's response and whether anyone appeals.
On Friday, an Argentine federal court closed the criminal investigation into President Javier Milei and his sister Karina Milei over the collapse of a cryptocurrency he had promoted online. Judge Marcelo Martinez de Giorgi issued the decision, according to court records, ending an inquiry into Milei's role in the launch of the $Libra token. The token crashed after a brief rally.
The judge's ruling was blunt. He wrote that the reported events do not constitute a criminal offence. He also found that investor losses, together with the rise and fall of the token's price, were not enough on their own to establish fraud.
The case turned on a post. In February 2025, Milei recommended the little-known meme coin to his followers on X. He later deleted the post and denied any link to the cryptocurrency, whose value soon plunged. When the coin crashed, Milei said he had acted "in good faith" and accused his political rivals of trying to exploit the situation.
Martinez de Giorgi did not wave away the weight of the president's voice. He acknowledged that Milei's institutional standing could have given the launch "greater impact" when he posted about it. But in the judge's reasoning, that amplification does not amount to a fraudulent scheme.
The judge also dismissed the investigation into Hayden Davis, a US businessman who described himself as a "launch adviser" for the token. Davis has acknowledged that he held close to $100m after the crash. He denies any wrongdoing.
The presidential office responded on X, saying that for the first time in history a president had been investigated with complete freedom, resulting in what it called absolute proof of his innocence. It then went further, asking who will take responsibility for wasting Argentine taxpayers' money and the president's time in what it described as a failed attempt at an institutional coup.
The ruling arrives as Milei holds a prominent place abroad and a contested one at home. He is among US President Donald Trump's closest allies, and Trump has called him his "favourite president." A year ago, ahead of a White House lunch with the Argentine leader, Trump tied his backing to an election result: "If he wins, we're staying with him. And if he doesn't win, we're gone." Earlier this month, Milei urged Trump to emerge stronger from the US midterm elections, saying the vote mattered for the West as a whole.
At home, Milei has governed since 2023 through austerity. He has laid off thousands of state employees, shut ministries, cut subsidies and reduced government-funded programmes, all aimed at curbing high inflation, which has fallen to about 2 percent a month. He says the plan is working, claiming Argentina has grown for 27 consecutive months and is expanding at four times its historical rate.
The presidential office has declared the matter settled. What remains open is how opposition figures respond and whether anyone moves to appeal the dismissal.
Citazioni salienti
The reported events do not constitute a criminal offence.— Judge Marcelo Martinez de Giorgi
For the first time in history, a President of the Nation was investigated with complete freedom, resulting in absolute proof of his innocence.— Argentina's presidential office, on X
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Politics & Governance