Argentina crypto victims appeal judge's exclusion in $LIBRA fraud case

Five victims of the $LIBRA cryptocurrency collapse filed appeals after Federal Judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi removed them from the criminal investigation. The judges argued the plaintiffs had not shown direct patrimonial loss and treated the incident as a volatile "memecoin" investment rather than a fraud.

The appeal now lies with the First Chamber of the Federal Court in Buenos Aires (Sala I), composed of judges Mariano Llorens, Leopoldo Bruglia and Pablo Bertuzzi. The plaintiffs, represented by lawyers including Juan Grabois and Camila Palacín, contend that the decision was "arbitrary" and ignored notarized documents and blockchain evidence. They cite evidence that, moments before President Javier Milei posted the token contract on X, 74 wallets executed 87 transactions totaling US$13.5 million, and shortly thereafter more than US$44.5 million moved to a single wallet, suggesting a coordinated fraud involving lobbyist Mauricio Novelli and U.S. businessman Hayden Davis.

The victims warn the ruling could set a precedent that hampers future crypto‑fraud victims from joining prosecutions. They have left open the possibility of escalating the case to the Supreme Court if the Chamber upholds the exclusion.