Judge dismisses criminal case against President Milei over Libra memecoin

Argentina’s President Javier Milei has been cleared in a high-profile case involving the controversial cryptocurrency LIBRA, the memecoin he launched last year which collapsed within 24 hours. A federal judge ruled that there is insufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges against Milei, his sister Karina or nine other people involved, over their alleged role in what critics described as a crypto scam.

Rug pull

The case centred on the memecoin LIBRA, which suddenly attracted global attention in early 2025 after Milei wrote about it positively on social media. In a post on X at the time, he said that “the world wants to invest in Argentina” and pointed to the digital coin. Its value shot up immediately. A few hours later he deleted the message, after which LIBRA’s value collapsed again.

Many investors subsequently accused the coin’s promoters of a so-called “rug pull”, a form of crypto fraud in which developers draw in investors and then sell their own positions, leaving the market nursing heavy losses. According to prosecutors, investors lost more than $100 million between them.

Judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi, however, saw no grounds for a criminal case. In his view, price swings and financial losses are not in themselves enough to demonstrate fraud. The court also found no evidence that Milei was involved in a coordinated plan to mislead investors.

Sister

The investigation also examined whether Karina Milei, the president’s influential sister and secretary general of the presidency, had received payments to arrange meetings between crypto entrepreneurs and her brother. Researchers found no evidence for that either. According to the judge, arranging contacts or meetings is not in itself a form of improper influence.

Milei responded sharply to the ruling. On X he spoke of a politically motivated campaign and asked who would compensate him for “one year, eight months and nine days of lies, slander and defamation” which he said were intended to damage his reputation.

With the ruling, one of the most controversial crypto files surrounding the Argentine president appears, for now, to be closed.