An Argentine federal judge has dismissed the criminal case over the LIBRA memecoin against President Javier Milei, his sister Karina Milei, U.S. businessman and token launch adviser Hayden Davis and other defendants – the clearest signal yet that the Milei LIBRA investigation is over, at least in its current form.
Federal judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi issued the ruling on Friday at the request of prosecutor Eduardo Taiano, finding that the reported conduct did not constitute a criminal offense and that investor losses and the token’s price collapse, on their own, did not establish fraud or criminally relevant deception.
What the ruling says
Three points carry the decision. First, dismissal came at the prosecution’s own request, not over the objections of prosecutors – Taiano had asked the court to drop the case. Second, the judge’s reasoning is about the legal characterization of the conduct, not a full merits trial: a falling token price and investor losses are not, by themselves, a crime under the reading adopted. Third, the ruling covers the full sweep of defendants, including Karina Milei and Davis, who has been a fixture of the LIBRA story on both sides of the Atlantic.
What it does not settle
Honest fine print matters here: this is a dismissal of the criminal investigation at the prosecutor’s request, not a jury verdict or a definitive acquittal on the merits. The dismissal can still be challenged – CoinDesk reported that Taiano is not expected to appeal, but the matter could be revisited if private plaintiffs are reinstated and choose to appeal the decision.
Why the case mattered beyond Argentina
LIBRA’s collapse turned into an international incident almost overnight when it surfaced that the president had promoted the token, triggering U.S. court proceedings of its own over funds connected to the launch. The U.S. side of the saga has already produced its own rulings: a U.S. court lifted a restraining order on funds held by LIBRA creator Hayden Davis, a case we covered when it happened.
With the Argentine criminal track closed at prosecutors’ request, the remaining questions are civil and political rather than penal – and whether private plaintiffs can put the case back in front of an appeals court.
Sources: Argentine federal court ruling of Friday, October 23, 2026, as reported by CoinDesk and international outlets. Defendants’ counsel positions beyond the ruling were not available at publication.
