Argentina drops investigation into President Milei over crypto fraud
Javier Milei had denied acting fraudulently when a cryptocurrency nosedived after he deleted a social media post about it.
Key points
- A federal judge dismissed the criminal investigation into President Javier Milei and his sister Karina over the $Libra cryptocurrency scandal.
- Milei denied promoting the coin, saying he acted in good faith when it rose and then crashed.
- The judge ruled the reported events did not fall under a legal category and no criminally relevant deception was proven.
A criminal investigation into Argentine President Javier Milei and his sister Karina Milei over their links to a cryptocurrency scandal has been dropped. Federal judge Marcelo Martinez de Giorgi dismissed the case at the request of prosecutors, according to court records.
The investigation concerned Milei's promotion of the newly launched cryptocoin $Libra, which collapsed shortly after he mentioned it in a social media post in February 2025. Milei has not yet responded to news that the case was dropped.
Judge's reasoning
In dismissing the case, the judge said that "the reported events do not fall under a legal category" and concluded that no "criminally relevant deception" had been proven.
The accusations of fraud arose after Milei posted on X about $Libra, saying it would help fund small businesses and start-ups. The cryptocurrency's price shot up when he shared a link to buy it, but within a few hours he deleted the post and the coin nosedived, losing investors most of their money.
I didn't promote it, I merely shared it
— Javier Milei
Milei's response
Milei denied promoting the coin, telling local media outlet Todo Noticias: "I didn't promote it, I merely shared it." He said he had acted "in good faith" and defended deleting his post, stating he did not know the details of the project and decided not to continue promoting it after learning about it.
The presidential office insisted Milei was in no way involved in the development of $Libra and announced that the Anti-Corruption Office would determine if he had acted improperly. In a TV interview, Milei said those who invested in $Libra had done so "voluntarily" and knew of the risks.
