Argentine judge dismisses case against Milei over alleged crypto scam

A federal judge has dismissed a criminal case against Argentine President Javier Milei and his sister, Karina Milei, regarding allegations of promoting a suspected cryptocurrency scam. The investigation focused on the $LIBRA meme coin, which saw significant price volatility and resulted in at least $100 million in investor losses after the president mentioned it in a February 2025 social media post.

The New Straits Times reports that the judge, Marcelo Martinez de Giorgi, ruled the reported events do not constitute a criminal offense.

According to BBC World, the case was dismissed at the request of prosecutors, with the judge concluding that no criminally relevant deception had been proven. While the cryptocurrency's price rose following Milei's post, it subsequently crashed, leading some to label the operation a "rug pull." Milei denied promoting the currency, stating he did not know the project's details and had acted in good faith, according to BBC World.

The investigation also sought to determine if Karina Milei had received payments to facilitate meetings between entrepreneurs and her brother, but the New Straits Times reports investigators found no proof of such payments. Nine other individuals under investigation were also cleared in the ruling. Le Monde English noted that the judge found the currency's price fluctuations and investor losses were insufficient to establish fraud.

Brief written by urgent.news from Le Monde English, New Straits Times, BBC World — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.