Argentine judge dismisses case against President Milei over $LIBRA cryptocurrency
October 24, 2026 at 05:30 PM
Argentine federal judge Marcelo MartÃnez de Giorgi on Friday, Oct. 23, dismissed the criminal case against President Javier Milei and 10 other people, including his sister Karina Milei, the presidential chief of staff, over $LIBRA, a cryptocurrency whose collapse left investors with heavy losses [1][2]. The judge granted a request from prosecutor Eduardo Taiano, ruling that "the reported events do not constitute a criminal offence," and ordered the case closed and archived once the decision becomes final [2].
$LIBRA was a previously unknown cryptocurrency, and on Feb. 14, 2025, Milei wrote on X, "The world wants to invest in Argentina. $LIBRA," and shared a link to buy it [1][2]. Its price soared, then crashed after the post was deleted a few hours later, and investors' losses are estimated at $100 million [1][2]. Industry experts called it a "rug pull," a scam in which the people behind a token draw in buyers and then take their money out, and opposition members of Congress planned impeachment proceedings against the president [1][2].
The judge ruled that the investors' losses and the token's sudden rise and fall were not enough on their own to prove the kind of deception required for criminal liability, and he also rejected allegations of abuse of authority and related offenses because Milei's post had not involved any administrative act or the use of state resources [2]. Karina Milei had been investigated over allegations that she was paid to arrange meetings between her brother and the entrepreneurs behind the cryptocurrency, but the judge found the evidence insufficient [2]. None of the people under investigation was ever formally questioned as a suspect [2].
Milei had maintained from the start that he did not promote the coin, telling Todo Noticias, "I didn't promote it, I merely shared it," and said that those who bought it had invested "voluntarily" and knew the risks [1]. After the ruling, he posted on social media a quotation attributed to a philosopher, "Truth triumphs on its own; lies always need complicity," and in a separate post on X he demanded compensation [2].
And now, who is going to compensate me for a year, eight months and nine days of lies, slander and libel intended to tarnish my good name and honour?
Buenos Aires Times (Court clears Milei siblings in $LIBRA cryptocurrency case)