In a ruling issued Friday afternoon, charges against President Javier Milei, his sister Karina, and other defendants were dismissed after a court found that the losses associated with the launch of the Libra meme coin were not sufficient to constitute a scam.
Key Takeaways
- A court acquitted Argentine President Javier Milei of all fraud charges over the Libra meme coin collapse.
- Judges found no proof of a scam, ruling Milei’s token promotion was personal and not an abuse of state power.
- While 40,000 investors lost $110M, a separate trust plans to distribute the token’s proceeds as business grants.
President Javier Milei and Others Acquitted in Libra Meme Coin Case
President Javier Milei, his sister, and other defendants were acquitted of all charges regarding their involvement in the launch of Viva La Libertad Project (Libra), a meme coin focused on supporting small Argentine entrepreneurs launched back in February 2025.
The ruling, issued by the Buenos Aires National Criminal and Correctional Federal Court No. 8 on Friday afternoon and published by Argentine press, followed a petition from public prosecutor Eduardo Taiano, after determining that there was no conclusive evidence linking Milei or any defendants to the crimes alleged by the complainants.
Federal Judge Marcelo Martinez de Giorgi ruled that there was no evidence of a scam being carried out, as the Libra token was launched and blockchain data showed that it operated. Furthermore, there were no promises of future profitability, and the court specified that loss of funds on the volatile meme coin market was insufficient to prove a fraud actually happened.
Milei was linked to the Libra probe due to his promotion of the token on social media soon after its launch. Within hours, the token price plummeted, leaving over 40,000 investors affected and nearly $110 million in losses.
Regarding this promotion, the court found Milei did not commit abuse of authority crimes, as he shared the token information on a personal basis without resorting to institutional or administrative acts.
Finally, the court also dismissed charges of incompatible negotiations and influence peddling. In the ruling, the court stressed that it did not find evidence against Karina Milei, the president’s sister and General Secretary of the Presidency of the Argentine Nation, who was accused of receiving money to secure access and arrange meetings with President Milei.
The acquittal follows a similar ruling in New York, where a class action lawsuit involving RICO and other related charges against Kelsier Ventures and other defendants was dismissed earlier this month.
With these decisions, the Libra matter appears settled both in Argentina and the U.S., leaving no one responsible for the losses associated with the token dump. Nonetheless, an independent trust was launched in May to distribute over $110 million from Libra token sales to Argentine entrepreneurs before November, using a grants system. No further information has been provided about the distribution of these funds.