Argentina drops criminal investigation into President Javier Milei over $LIBRA memecoin

An Argentine federal judge has dismissed a criminal investigation into President Javier Milei and his sister Karina Milei over the collapse of the LIBRA meme coin, finding insufficient evidence of fraud, according to Reuters.

Federal Judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi issued the ruling Friday after prosecutor Eduardo Taiano requested the dismissal of the case, which had examined Milei’s involvement in promoting the cryptocurrency in February 2025.

The judge acknowledged that Milei’s position as president could have amplified interest in LIBRA when he promoted it on X but concluded that his actions did not establish a fraudulent scheme.

The ruling also dismissed the investigation into US businessman Hayden Davis, who described himself as a launch adviser for LIBRA and acknowledged holding nearly $100 million following the token’s collapse.

Davis has denied any wrongdoing.

LIBRA investigation followed token collapse in February 2025

The investigation began after Milei promoted LIBRA in an X post on February 14, 2025, triggering a sharp increase in the token’s price before it collapsed hours later.

Milei subsequently deleted the post and denied having any direct involvement in the cryptocurrency project.

At the time, he maintained that he had acted in good faith and was unaware of the project’s details when he shared the token with his followers.

“I was not aware of the details of the project and once I found out, I decided to not continue giving it publicity,” Milei said.

The collapse prompted allegations of market manipulation after blockchain researchers identified approximately $99 million withdrawn from the token’s liquidity pools through eight wallets linked to its creator.

Argentina’s fintech chamber previously raised concerns that the incident could constitute a rug pull, a practice in which token developers attract investors before withdrawing funds or selling their holdings.

The allegations led to a criminal investigation examining potential fraud and the involvement of individuals associated with the token’s launch.

However, the court concluded that the evidence did not establish the elements necessary to prove the alleged criminal offenses.

According to EFE, the judge found that the token’s price collapse alone was insufficient to establish fraud without evidence of a deceptive act that induced investors to purchase it.

The court also found no evidence that Karina Milei had received payments to arrange meetings between the president and businesspeople connected to the project.

The dismissal extends to other individuals investigated in the case, including Mauricio Novelli and Manuel Terrones Godoy.

The decision closes the criminal proceedings covered by the ruling, although it does not reverse investors’ losses from LIBRA’s collapse.