Argentine Court Dismisses Milei Criminal Case Over $LIBRA Collapse
Published October 24, 2026, 04:45 AM PKT. Based on Reuters reporting on Argentine court records on October 23, 2026 (primary source), and reporting by CryptoBriefing and Bitcoin.com on October 23, 2026 (secondary sources).
An Argentine federal judge dismissed the criminal investigation into President Javier Milei, his sister Karina Milei and nine other people over the collapse of the $LIBRA meme coin, ending the Argentine criminal case that began when Milei promoted the token on social media in February 2025 and its price crashed hours later. Federal Judge Marcelo Martinez de Giorgi of Buenos Aires National Criminal and Correctional Federal Court No. 8 issued the dismissal on Friday, October 23, 2026, after prosecutor Eduardo Taiano asked for the case to be dropped, according to Reuters, which reported the order from court records. The judge found insufficient evidence that any crime had been committed. Bitcoin.com, which reviewed the ruling as published by Argentine press, described the decision as clearing Milei of all charges in the case, while Reuters framed it as a dropped investigation, a distinction that matters: the case was dismissed on the prosecutor's request, not decided at a full trial.
The ruling: a collapse is not proof of a scam
The core of the ruling is a line the judge drew between investor losses and criminal fraud. Judge Martinez de Giorgi rejected the fraud charge, known in Argentina as estafa, because no one had proven a deceptive act that induced investors to buy the token, according to CryptoBriefing's account of the ruling, which cited EFE. The token's price collapse alone, the judge found, was insufficient to establish fraud without evidence of deception connected to the losses. Bitcoin.com's account of the ruling adds two further findings: the court noted that the Libra token was launched and that blockchain data showed it operated, and that there were no promises of future profitability. In the judge's view, the wild price swings around $LIBRA were typical behavior for memecoins, and losing money on a volatile memecoin market was not, by itself, proof that a fraud had taken place. The ruling also dismissed charges of incompatible negotiations and influence peddling, according to Bitcoin.com.
The February 2025 post that started the case
The investigation began with a single social media post. On February 14, 2025, Milei promoted $LIBRA in a post on X, presenting it as part of the Viva La Libertad project, a token described as supporting small Argentine entrepreneurs, according to Bitcoin.com. The token's price rose sharply and then collapsed within hours. Milei subsequently deleted the post and denied having any direct involvement in the cryptocurrency project, saying at the time that he had acted in good faith and was unaware of the project's details when he shared it with his followers. CryptoBriefing quoted his explanation: "I was not aware of the details of the project and once I found out, I decided to not continue giving it publicity." The collapse prompted allegations of market manipulation after blockchain researchers identified approximately $99 million withdrawn from the token's liquidity pools through eight wallets linked to its creator, according to CryptoBriefing. Argentina's fintech chamber had previously raised concerns that the incident could constitute a rug pull, a practice in which token developers attract investors before withdrawing funds or selling their holdings. A judge was assigned in February 2025 to investigate Milei's role, and the probe examined possible fraud in the coin's launch, according to Reuters.
The personal post defense, and the other defendants
One of the ruling's most consequential findings concerns the nature of Milei's promotion itself. The court found that Milei did not commit abuse of authority crimes because he shared the token information on a personal basis, without resorting to institutional or administrative acts, according to Bitcoin.com. CryptoBriefing reported the same reasoning in slightly different terms: the judge acknowledged that Milei's position as president could have amplified interest in $LIBRA when he promoted it on X, but concluded that his actions did not establish a fraudulent scheme. The dismissal also covered the other people investigated in the case. Karina Milei, the president's sister and General Secretary of the Presidency, had been accused of receiving money to secure access and arrange meetings with the president; the court found no evidence against her on that allegation, according to Bitcoin.com, and CryptoBriefing reported that the court found no evidence she had received payments to arrange meetings between the president and businesspeople connected to the project. The dismissal also extends to US businessman Hayden Davis, who described himself as a launch adviser for $LIBRA and acknowledged holding nearly $100 million following the token's collapse, according to CryptoBriefing, and to Mauricio Novelli and Manuel Terrones Godoy. Davis has denied any wrongdoing.
The money: $110 million lost, and a grants trust
The figures attached to the collapse vary by source, and this article reports them as attributed estimates rather than a single settled total. Bitcoin.com reported that more than 40,000 investors were affected and that losses reached nearly $110 million. CryptoBriefing described the episode differently, saying the February 2025 post ended up costing investors a reported $251 million. The gap between those tallies reflects different ways of counting the damage, realized losses against paper losses at peak prices, and neither figure is presented in the ruling as a court-certified total. What is documented separately is an attempt to put some of the proceeds to use: an independent trust was launched in May to distribute more than $110 million from Libra token sales to Argentine entrepreneurs through a grants system before November, according to Bitcoin.com, which added that no further information has been provided about the distribution of those funds. The dismissal itself does not reverse any investor losses, a point CryptoBriefing stated explicitly: the decision closes the criminal proceedings covered by the ruling, but the money lost in the collapse is not restored by it.
What the dismissal does not settle
The Argentine ruling closes one chapter, but readers should not read it as a blanket verdict on every $LIBRA claim. First, it covers the Argentine criminal proceedings named in the order; it is not a finding about the token's economics or about any civil claim outside that case. Second, Bitcoin.com noted a parallel development in the United States: a class action lawsuit involving RICO and other related charges against Kelsier Ventures and other defendants was dismissed earlier in October 2026, which, combined with the Argentine decision, leaves the Libra matter appearing settled in both countries in that outlet's assessment. That assessment is Bitcoin.com's, not the court's, and this article attributes it as such. Third, the grants trust's distribution remains an open question, with no public accounting of the funds reported as of October 23. The throughline of the October 23 decision is narrow but significant: a sitting president who promoted a memecoin that collapsed within hours will not face criminal fraud charges in Argentina over it, because the court found losses and volatility, without proven deception, do not make a scam under the law as applied.
This article is news reporting and is not investment advice.
Sources
- Reuters, Argentina drops probe into President Milei and sister over meme coin scandal (October 23, 2026), primary source, reporting on Argentine court records
- CryptoBriefing, Argentina drops criminal investigation into President Javier Milei over $LIBRA memecoin (October 23, 2026), secondary source
- Bitcoin.com, Argentine Court Clears President Milei of All Charges in Libra Crypto Case (October 23, 2026), secondary source
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