Argentine judge dismisses crypto fraud case against President Milei and sister Karina

Federal Judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi dismissed the criminal case against Argentine President Javier Milei and his sister Karina Milei on Friday. The ruling also benefits nine other suspects, including businessmen Mauricio Novelli and Manuel Terrones Godoy, and American entrepreneur Hayden Davis.

The judge accepted the request of prosecutor Eduardo Taiano, concluding that the facts under investigation do not fit any criminal offense. The 60-page decision is based on Article 336, third paragraph, of the National Criminal Procedural Code, which provides for dismissal when the investigated act does not constitute a crime.

“No criminally relevant deception could be demonstrated to configure the crime of fraud.”

The case originated from complaints filed after February 14, 2025, when Milei promoted the $LIBRA digital asset on his X account and shared the contract address needed to acquire it. According to the complaints reconstructed in the ruling, the token's price rose from about US$0.01 to nearly US$5 before collapsing.

Complainants estimated that a few wallets withdrew around US$100 million and that more than 40,000 buyers suffered losses in value. The investigation included raids, seizure of electronic devices, traceability studies of operations on the Solana network, and requests for information from public agencies and private companies.

Judicial cooperation from the United States was also requested to identify operations and those responsible for wallets linked to the token's launch. One of the main grounds was that no criminally relevant deception could be demonstrated to configure the crime of fraud.

The decision remains subject to possible appeals and its scope is limited to the proceedings examined by that court. The case file will be archived once the ruling becomes final.