The ruling

A federal judge, Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi, dismissed the criminal case against President Javier Milei and his sister Karina Milei on Friday, 23 October 2026. Karina Milei serves as secretary general of the Presidency. The case examined suspicions of fraud tied to the $LIBRA memecoin, which Milei had posted about on X on 14 February 2025 before deleting the post within hours. The ruling also dismissed the cases against nine other suspects, among them the American entrepreneur Hayden Davis, who was tasked with launching the token. Prosecutors had requested the dismissal, according to court records. The judge concluded that the reported events did not fall under any legal offence.

What the judge found

The judge held that investor losses and the rise and fall of the token's price were not enough to prove fraud, and that no 'criminally relevant deception' had been shown. He also found no proof that Karina Milei received payments for arranging meetings between the token's backers and the president. In the ruling he wrote:

“Facilitating a contact or helping organize a meeting is not, in itself, equivalent to selling influence.”

The judge also ruled out abuse of authority and incompatible negotiations, because the presidential post was not accompanied by administrative acts or the use of state resources. None of the accused was called to give a formal statement before the dismissal, a step that is normally taken in such cases. The ruling cites the September rejection, by a first-instance court in New York, of a class action against the token's promoters over 'legal defects' in the filing.

The token and its losses

Milei's post sent the token's price up sharply, after which it fell steeply. Investors, both local and foreign, lost at least $100 million when the price collapsed. Traders with privileged information had bought the token at no cost at launch and resold it at much higher prices, earning estimated profits of over $100 million. A group of victims filed a civil suit in Argentina claiming $4.5 million in damages, and Congress set up an investigative commission. Opposition members of Congress had planned impeachment proceedings. US courts are also examining the token's collapse.

Milei's defence and next steps

Milei has denied promoting the token. In an interview with the Todo Noticias channel he said he had shared it rather than promoted it, and that he deleted the post after learning the project's details. In a TV interview he argued that investors bought the token voluntarily and knew the risks. The presidential office said Milei had no part in developing $LIBRA and that the Anti-Corruption Office would determine whether the president had acted improperly. At the time of reporting, Milei had not responded to the dismissal. The ruling closes only the criminal case, while the civil suit, the congressional inquiry and the Anti-Corruption Office review stand apart from it.