Cryptocurrency crash: case against Javier Milei dropped

dpa | The Argentine judiciary has dropped the case against President Javier Milei for his alleged involvement in a cryptocurrency scandal. The reported incidents did not constitute a criminal offense, said the responsible federal judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi, justifying the decision.

Milei was accused last year of promoting the $Libra cryptocurrency on social media, whose value collapsed just hours later. Investors are estimated to have lost over $200 million. Parts of the opposition had called for impeachment proceedings.

"The world wants to invest in Argentina. $Libra," the libertarian head of state of the South American country wrote on the X platform at the time. He deleted the post hours later. "I didn't know the details of the project, and after learning about it, I decided not to promote it further," he later shared.

From the perspective of critics, Milei had carried out a trade known as a “rug pull” – a scam in the crypto sector.

However, the judge now sees no sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges for fraud, abuse of office or other acts incompatible with public office - a view that the public prosecutor's office had previously taken.

Karina Milei (53), the head of state's sister, who serves as Secretary General of the Presidential Office, and other people were also investigated.

Milei, who had just turned 56, spoke out after the decision was announced: It exposed an “enormous political and media operation whose sole aim was to damage the office of the president for political, putschist reasons.” The judiciary has now put things back on track. “Who will compensate me for a year, eight months and nine days full of lies, slander and insults?” he asked rhetorically on X.

There was criticism from the opposition: "There is no justice in our country. The judiciary is dominated by a mafia that is in the service of power," wrote the left-wing Peronist youth organization "La Cámpora" on