Argentina drops criminal investigation into President Milei over crypto scandal
An Argentine federal judge has dismissed the criminal case against President Javier Milei and his sister Karina Milei over the collapse of the $Libra cryptocurrency, at prosecutors' request. The judge found no criminally relevant deception had been proven.
A criminal investigation in Argentina into President Javier Milei and his sister Karina Milei, examining their links to the $Libra cryptocurrency scandal, has been dropped. Federal judge Marcelo Martinez de Giorgi dismissed the case at the request of prosecutors, court records show. The decision means the president faces no charges in this case.
What the judge found
The judge said the reported events do not fall under a legal category and concluded that no "criminally relevant deception" had been proven. Milei has not yet responded to the news.
How the scandal began
The affair dates to February 2025, when Milei posted on X about the newly launched $Libra coin, saying it would help fund small businesses and start-ups. The coin's price jumped after he shared a link to buy it. Within hours he deleted the post, and the value collapsed, leaving investors with most of their money lost.
Opposition members of Congress then planned impeachment proceedings. Some people online accused Milei of a "rug pull", a scheme in which promoters draw in buyers for a cryptocurrency and then halt trading and make off with the money raised.
Milei's explanation
Milei denied promoting the coin. In an interview with local media outlet Todo Noticias he said: "I didn't promote it, I merely shared it." His office said he had no involvement in developing $Libra and announced that the Anti-Corruption Office would determine whether he had acted improperly. Milei said he deleted the post because he did not know the details of the project at the time and decided not to keep promoting it after learning about it. In a TV interview he also insisted that those who invested in $Libra did so "voluntarily" and knew the risks.
