Argentine judge clears Milei of fraud charges over $Libra crypto collapse
A federal judge has dropped a criminal fraud investigation into President Javier Milei over the crash of the $Libra meme coin he promoted online. The ruling found no criminal offence had been committed.
Argentine federal judge drops Milei crypto fraud case
A federal judge in Argentina has closed a criminal investigation into President Javier Milei and his sister Karina Milei over the collapse of the $Libra cryptocurrency, which Milei had promoted on social media, aljazeera.com reports.
Judge Marcelo Martinez de Giorgi issued the ruling on Friday, finding that "the reported events do not constitute a criminal offence." He further held that investor losses and the sharp movement in the token's price were insufficient grounds to establish fraud.
In his written decision, Martinez de Giorgi acknowledged that Milei's position as head of state could have given the launch "greater impact" when he posted about it, but concluded that this did not amount to a fraudulent scheme.
Milei had recommended the little-known meme coin in a post on X in February 2025. He subsequently deleted the post, denied any connection to the cryptocurrency, and said he had acted "in good faith" when the coin's value quickly collapsed after an initial rally.
The judge also dismissed an inquiry into US businessman Hayden Davis, who had identified himself as a "launch adviser" for the token. Davis has acknowledged holding close to $100m following the crash and denies any wrongdoing.
Argentina's official presidential office marked the ruling with a post on X, stating: "For the first time in history, a President of the Nation was investigated with complete freedom, resulting in absolute proof of his innocence." The post also questioned who would "take responsibility for having wasted Argentine taxpayers' money and the President of the Nation's time in a failed attempt at an institutional coup."
Milei is widely regarded as one of US President Donald Trump's closest international allies. Trump has previously called him his "favourite president" and signalled that his support was contingent on electoral success. "If he wins, we're staying with him. And if he doesn't win, we're gone," Trump said ahead of a White House lunch with the Argentine leader last year.
Earlier this month, Milei urged Trump to emerge stronger from the US midterm elections, describing the vote as significant for the West as a whole.
Since taking office in 2023, Milei has pursued a sweeping austerity programme, laying off thousands of state employees, shutting ministries, cutting subsidies and reducing government-funded programmes in an effort to bring down high inflation. Monthly inflation has since fallen to around 2 percent. Milei has claimed that Argentina has grown for 27 consecutive months and is expanding at four times its historical rate.
Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)