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Argentina’s federal court system has closed the criminal file on the LIBRA token scandal. Judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi issued a 60-page ruling on Oct. 23, 2026, dismissing the case against President Javier Milei, his sister Karina Milei and US businessman Hayden Davis, along with eight other defendants, according to Coinpedia. The decision followed a recommendation from prosecutor Eduardo Taiano that the investigation be dropped.
Coinpedia reported that the judge concluded investor losses and sharp price moves on their own could not support a finding of criminal fraud. The inquiry had examined fraud, abuse of authority and misuse of public resources connected to Milei’s promotion of the token on X in February 2025.
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Key facts
- Judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi issued the 60-page dismissal on Oct. 23, 2026, after prosecutor Eduardo Taiano sought the case’s closure.
- The ruling covers Javier Milei, Karina Milei, Hayden Davis and eight others: Mauricio Novelli, Manuel Terrones Godoy, Sergio Morales, Julian Peh, María Alicia Rafaele, María Pía Novelli, Camilo Rodríguez Blanco and Orlando Mellino.
- Investigators found no evidence that Karina Milei was paid to arrange meetings between the president and the token’s creators.
- Loss estimates cited across the reports vary, with some figures exceeding $200 million and early Coinpedia reporting placing the range at $100 million to $251 million.
- None of the defendants was called for formal questioning before the case was closed.
What the judge accepted and what he rejected
According to Coinpedia, the court recognised that Milei’s office gave the launch wider visibility but held that institutional prominence alone was not proof of a fraudulent scheme. Investigators did not identify a specific false statement that led buyers to purchase LIBRA, and no administrative order or government contract was tied to the promotion.
The judge also addressed the contacts between Karina Milei and the project’s organisers. Blockonomi reported that investigators examined unsigned files recovered from Mauricio Novelli’s phone and found nothing proving a paid arrangement or influence peddling. Davis, who acted as a launch adviser and has denied wrongdoing, was cleared on the basis that there was insufficient evidence of criminal coordination with Argentine officials.
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Political reaction splits along party lines
The presidential office welcomed the outcome, describing it on X as absolute proof of Milei’s innocence, and Milei characterised the case as a political and media operation against him. Presidential adviser Santiago Caputo also endorsed the dismissal, per Crypto.news.
Opposition figures were sharply critical. Deputy Maximiliano Ferraro, who chaired the lower-house commission that examined LIBRA, objected to the absence of formal questioning of the defendants and accused judicial officials of obstructing the inquiry. Crypto.news noted these were political reactions rather than findings established by the ruling itself.
The three reports are not fully aligned on procedure. Blockonomi and Crypto.news both reported that challenges over the removal of private complainants remained before the Federal Criminal Cassation Court; Crypto.news, citing Infobae, specified that those challenges concern participation in the case rather than any reversal of the dismissal. Crypto.news also reported that investigators could not determine the contents of Milei’s launch-day calls with Novelli and that requests to US authorities ended after those authorities judged the supporting material insufficient.
Why it matters
The dismissal ends the highest-profile crypto prosecution connected to a sitting head of state and removes a legal risk that had hung over Milei’s government since early 2025. It does not resolve the financial side of the episode: no compensation was awarded to token buyers and no single final loss figure was set. A parallel US class action involving Kelsier, Davis, former Meteora CEO Benjamin Chow and Meteora had already been dismissed by a New York federal court in September 2026, with Judge Jennifer L. Rochon dismissing the case with prejudice. A separate $57.6 million USDC release in August 2025 preceded both dismissals and was not a compensation payment.
What to watch
The next procedural step is the Federal Criminal Cassation Court’s handling of the challenges over investors’ participation as private complainants. How that court frames the exclusion, and any further appeals it permits, will determine whether the Argentine file stays closed. This article is not financial advice; crypto markets are volatile and uncertain.
Sources: Coinpedia, Blockonomi, Crypto.news
