Argentine judge drops $LIBRA fraud case against Milei
Rule Changes
A federal court found no crime in the president's promotion of a crashed crypto token. A substitute judge has now asked the prosecutor to weigh in on reopening the case, and Cassation will review whether investors can rejoin as plaintiffs.
On October 23, Federal Judge Marcelo Martinez de Giorgi cleared President Javier Milei, his sister Karina and nine others of fraud over the $LIBRA token. He ruled that promoting it was not a crime. About 40,000 buyers lost money after the token, launched at roughly a cent, spiked near $5 and collapsed within hours.
The case is not closed. The Anticorruption Prosecutor's office has asked to reopen it, and on November 5 substitute judge Daniel Rafecas asked prosecutor Eduardo Taiano for his view; titular judge Martinez de Giorgi is expected to decide next week. Separately, the Federal Chamber of Cassation agreed on November 4 to review whether two investors can rejoin as plaintiffs.
Why it matters
A head of state was cleared of fraud over a crypto token he promoted, leaving tens of thousands of investors without a criminal route to recover their losses.
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Key Indicators
$251M
Estimated investor losses
TokenPost estimated total losses at about $251 million across roughly 114,000 wallets, with about 86% of traders losing money.
40,000+
Buyers who held $LIBRA
The federal resolution refers to more than forty thousand people who had bought the token before it crashed.
11
People cleared by dismissal
Judge Martinez de Giorgi cleared Milei, his sister Karina, and nine other defendants.
$100M
Pulled by creator-linked wallets
Around $100 million withdrawn by a few wallet addresses, per the court resolution; BBC reported about $90 million, more than 80% of circulating funds.
$4.6B
Peak market capitalization
Market cap briefly reached about $4.6 billion after Milei's post, then fell more than 90%, according to TokenPost.
14 events
Latest: 6 days ago
Showing 8 of 14
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November 2026
Rafecas asks Taiano to weigh in on reopening
LatestLegal
Substitute judge Daniel Rafecas asked prosecutor Eduardo Taiano to give his view on the PIA's request to reopen the case. The opinion is not binding, and titular judge Marcelo Martinez de Giorgi, back from leave, is expected to decide next week.
Milei nominates Rafecas to appeals court
Political
The same day Rafecas handled the reopening request, President Milei sent the Senate his nomination for Rafecas to sit on the Federal Chamber of Cassation.
Cassation agrees to review investors' plaintiff status
Legal
The Federal Chamber of Cassation's Sala II voted 2-1 to hear a queja from investors Vladislav Lapchenko and Sviatlana Krasutskaya, whom lower courts had barred as plaintiffs. The ruling does not reopen the case; it lets Cassation decide whether the two can take part.
October 2026
Anticorruption Prosecutor asks to reopen $LIBRA case
Legal
The PIA, led by Sergio Rodríguez, assumed the criminal action and asked the judge to reopen the investigation. If the judge refuses, it asked for an appeal to the Federal Chamber. The PIA's filing lists unfinished measures, according to Particle.
Cassation delays ruling on reinstating investor plaintiffs
Legal
La Nación reported that Cassation's Sala II will wait at least two more weeks before deciding whether to hear the excluded buyers' bid to rejoin as plaintiffs. Judges disagree on the question, according to the report.
Investor Marchetto appeals $LIBRA dismissal
Legal
Juan Patricio Marchetto, represented by Juan Grabois and Nicolás Rechanik, filed a 40-page challenge. He argues the judge confused insufficient evidence with the absence of a crime, and says pending expert reviews were not completed.
Milei says he may sue La Nación over $LIBRA coverage
Reaction
After his dismissal, Milei attacked the newspaper and journalist Hugo Alconada Mon over their reporting and said he was weighing legal action with his lawyers.
Judge dismisses $LIBRA case
Legal
Judge Martinez de Giorgi clears Milei, his sister, and nine others, ruling the promotion was not a criminal offense.
Belarusian investors appeal $LIBRA dismissal
Legal
Two Belarusian investors represented by Nicolás Oszust appealed the dismissal. They asked for the prosecutor's dismissal and the rulings to be annulled, arguing they could not ask a senior prosecutor to review Taiano's position.
September 2026
US judge dismisses $LIBRA class action
Legal
A judge in the Southern District of New York dismissed claims against Kelsier Labs and other defendants on September 29, 2026, the Buenos Aires federal resolution records. TokenPost, which reported the ruling on October 2, said it covered Kelsier Ventures, Meteora and developer Benjamin Chow and left buyers without compensation.
Excluded investors take their challenge to Cassation
Legal
Lawyers for affected buyers, removed as plaintiffs by Judge Martinez de Giorgi and then by the Federal Chamber, asked the Federal Chamber of Cassation to reinstate them. A separate appeal from a group of Belarusian buyers claiming about $4 million in losses is also pending there.
July 2026
Investor plaintiffs removed from $LIBRA case
Legal
Judge Martinez de Giorgi excluded the lawyers representing affected buyers as plaintiffs on July 3. The Federal Chamber's Sala I upheld the exclusion in September, according to La Nación; Infobae reports it is still under appeal.
February 2025
Milei promotes $LIBRA on X
Event
Milei posts about the $LIBRA token on X; priced at about $0.01 at launch, it climbed to near $5, then crashed as creator-linked wallets sold.
Fraud investigation opens
Investigation
Federal prosecutor Eduardo Taiano opens an inquiry into suspected fraud in the token's launch and promotion.
Discussed by: Perfil noted the ruling can be appealed; investors were excluded as parties in the original case
The dismissal is not final. Affected investors or other parties could appeal to Argentina's Federal Chamber of Cassation, arguing that the judge applied the fraud statute too narrowly. If the chamber reinstates the investigation, the case would resume where it left off.
2
Dismissal stands; $LIBRA criminal case legally closed
Likely
Resolves by End of 2027
Discussed by: The prosecutor himself recommended dismissal, and the judge agreed
With the prosecution recommending dismissal and the judge finding no criminal offense, an appeal is unlikely to succeed. The case ends, and the 40,000-plus affected investors have no criminal channel for restitution. Political scrutiny of the episode may continue outside the courts.
3
US authorities pursue separate action against Hayden Davis
Possible
Resolves by End of 2027
Discussed by: Reuters and blockchain researchers highlighted the $99 million in wallet withdrawals linked to the token's creator
The Argentine dismissal does not bind US prosecutors. If the US Department of Justice or Securities and Exchange Commission determines that Davis's role in the token's launch and sell-off violated US law, he could face separate proceedings. No US action has been announced.
4
Dismissal becomes final with no appeal
Likely
Resolves by Nov 30, 2026
Discussed by: Perfil, citing the prosecutor's decision not to appeal and the exclusion of investor plaintiffs
Prosecutor Eduardo Taiano asked for the case to be closed and will not appeal, and the lawyers for affected buyers were removed as plaintiffs in September 2026. Once the short appeal window lapses, the criminal case ends and the roughly 40,000 buyers have no criminal route to compensation.
5
Cassation reinstates the excluded buyers, keeping an appeal alive
Possible
Resolves by Q1 2027
Discussed by: La Nación, citing the Cassation panel of Alejandro Slokar, Guillermo Yacobucci and Ángela Ledesma
The buyers' lawyers were removed as plaintiffs in July 2026, and the Federal Chamber upheld that in September. They have asked the Federal Chamber of Cassation to put them back in the case. If it does, they could appeal the dismissal itself, and the same panel already holds a separate appeal from Belarusian buyers who say they lost about $4 million.
6
Judge reopens $LIBRA case at PIA's request
Possible
Resolves by Nov 30, 2026
Discussed by: The Anticorruption Prosecutor's office (PIA), which filed the reopening request
Substitute judge Daniel Rafecas has asked prosecutor Eduardo Taiano for his view, and titular judge Marcelo Martinez de Giorgi is expected to decide next week. If he grants the request, investigators would resume tracing funds and examining communications. If he refuses, the PIA's subsidiary appeal sends the question to the Federal Chamber.
Historical Context
2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
1 of 2
November 2021
Squid Game token rug pull (2021)
The developers of a Squid Game-themed token (SQUID) disappeared with roughly $3.38 million after the token's price spiked and then crashed about 99.99% in minutes. The token had no official connection to the Netflix series.
Then
Exchanges delisted the token, and affected investors had little recourse.
Now
It became the textbook example of a "rug pull," the mechanism alleged in the $LIBRA case, in which token creators pump value and then dump their holdings.
Why this matters now
In the $LIBRA case, blockchain researchers linked eight digital wallets to the token's creator that withdrew around $99 million before the crash, a similar dump pattern.
2 of 2
October 2022
Kim Kardashian SEC settlement (2022)
The Securities and Exchange Commission fined Kim Kardashian $1.26 million for promoting EthereumMax on Instagram without disclosing she was paid $250,000 for the post.
Then
She paid the fine and agreed not to promote crypto securities for three years.
Now
The case set a US precedent that public figures must disclose payment for crypto promotions.
Why this matters now
It contrasts with the Argentine ruling, where a public figure's undisclosed promotion of a crashed token was found not to be a criminal offense.
