An Argentine federal judge has dismissed a criminal investigation into President Javier Milei, his sister Karina Milei and nine others over the dramatic collapse of a cryptocurrency token promoted on social media last year, court records showed Friday.
Federal Judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi approved a petition by federal prosecutor Eduardo Taiano to close the case, concluding that the allegations did not meet the threshold of a criminal offense. The judge determined that investigators uncovered no proof of fraudulent deceit, official misconduct or the unauthorized use of public resources, according to Argentine media reports on the 60-page decision.
A Wild Rally Followed by a Steep Plunge
The criminal inquiry stemmed from a February 2025 post on X, formerly Twitter, in which Milei drew attention to the $Libra digital token, describing it as a private venture aimed at financing small Argentine businesses and startups. Following his mention, the market capitalization of the cryptocurrency spiked to $4.56 billion before tumbling more than 94 percent within 11 hours, leaving many retail buyers with severe losses.
Milei took down the social media message several hours later, insisting he had acted in good faith without knowing the detailed inner workings of the venture. Opponents in the Argentine Congress accused him of participating in a suspected rug pull and threatened to launch impeachment proceedings. A complaint brought by two opposition lawmakers also alleged that Karina Milei, who serves as the presidential secretary-general, had operated as an illicit intermediary to broker access to the president.
Court Finds No Criminal Deception
In his ruling, Martínez de Giorgi acknowledged that public commentary from a head of state could grant a commercial project extraordinary reach and influence how much trust investors placed in it. However, the judge wrote that such visibility does not automatically mean the public received a fraudulent portrayal of reality.
Martínez de Giorgi cautioned that sharp swings in market prices and commercial losses are not enough on their own to establish criminal fraud. He affirmed the prosecutor’s finding that the evidentiary record lacked any criminally relevant deception.
The decision also cleared Hayden Davis, a U.S. businessman and launch adviser linked to Kelsier Ventures who acknowledged holding nearly $100 million after the collapse, as well as eight other individuals. Court records noted that none of the 11 people named in the inquiry were ever formally interrogated as criminal suspects. Additionally, the judge found no evidence that Karina Milei engaged in any improper financial exchanges.
Presidency Calls Ruling Total Exoneration
Milei’s office welcomed the outcome on Friday in an official statement on X, writing that an inquiry conducted with total independence had delivered “absolute proof of his innocence.” The statement went on to challenge critics, asking who would answer for wasting public resources and the president’s time in what the administration described as a failed effort to stage an institutional coup.
Milei had previously maintained in broadcast interviews that buyers had invested voluntarily and were aware of the volatile nature of speculative tokens.
The court ordered the case file to be archived once the ruling becomes final. An appeals panel previously upheld the removal of five private investors as formal plaintiffs in September, though those investors petitioned a criminal cassation court to be reinstated. It remains unclear whether legal opponents will attempt any further appeals.
