Argentine judge clears Milei and 10 others in LIBRA case, finding no ‘criminally relevant deception’

JUST IN: Argentine judge clears President Javier Milei and 10 others in the LIBRA crypto case, ruling his post promoting the token did not amount to 'criminally relevant deception'.

Javier Milei is off the hook for LIBRA. An Argentine judge cleared the president and ten others, ruling his post promoting the token was not criminally relevant deception.

Quick rewind for anyone who missed the saga. Milei, the chainsaw-wielding libertarian running Argentina, posted about a memecoin called LIBRA back in February. The thing spiked, then collapsed, and plenty of people who bought on the president's say-so got wrecked. Lawsuits followed, a criminal case opened, and for months this hung over the Casa Rosada like a storm cloud.

Now a judge says promoting a token is not the same as deceiving anyone, at least not in a way the criminal code cares about. Ten co-defendants walk with him.

The people who lost money on LIBRA still lost it. The only thing this ruling settles is that in Argentina, a presidential shill post is not a crime.

This is Sara White, reporting for HIT.