Argentina drops criminal probe into President Milei over crashed memecoin LIBRA

An Argentine federal judge has dismissed the criminal case against President Javier Milei over his promotion of LIBRA, a memecoin that crashed soon after its launch in February 2025.

The ruling also covers Milei's sister Karina, the presidency's secretary general. U.S. businessman Hayden Davis, who described himself as an adviser to the token's launch, was also covered by the dismissal, Reuters reported.

In all, 11 people were cleared, including lobbyist Mauricio Novelli and KIP Protocol CEO Julian Peh, according to Infobae. None of them had been formally questioned in the case.

Judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi acknowledged that Milei's endorsement could have given the launch "greater impact,” but said his social media post and LIBRA's subsequent collapse were insufficient to establish fraud without evidence of a specific deception, the report adds, citing court records.

The judge also found no evidence that Karina Milei sought or received money in exchange for access to the president, or that proceeds from LIBRA reached public officials, according to Argentine fact-checking outlet Chequeado.

In February 2025, CoinDesk reported that it had obtained text messages in which Davis bragged about buying access to the president’s inner circle, sent money to Karina Milei, and claimed he could influence the president's decisions. Davis subsequently denied making any payments to either Milei or his sister.

Milei promoted LIBRA on X on Feb. 14, 2025, saying the Solana-based token would help fund small businesses in Argentina. It rose exponentially before losing more than 90% of its value, leading to the destruction of over $250 million in investor wealth.

Blockchain researchers found that eight wallets linked to the token's creator had withdrawn around $99 million in crypto, according to the report. Davis said he held close to $100 million after the crash but denied wrongdoing.

Milei later deleted his post and denied ties to LIBRA. He said he had acted in good faith and pulled his support after learning more about the project.

In an official statement, the president's office said the judge granted a prosecutor's request to dismiss the case because the acts under review did not constitute a crime. It characterized the probe, opened ahead of Argentina’s 2025 midterm elections, as an attempt to harm Milei’s reputation in an election year.

The case may not be fully closed, however.

Prosecutor Eduardo Taiano, who requested the dismissal, is not expected to appeal. In July, the judge removed the investors who had joined the case as plaintiffs, and an appeals court upheld that decision in September.

Those investors have challenged their removal before the Federal Criminal Cassation Court. If they are reinstated, they could appeal the dismissal.