Investor Juan Patricio Marchetto, who lost money when the LIBRA token ($LIBRA) collapsed, is contesting Argentina’s dismissal of the criminal inquiry while a court reviews his right to appeal.
Buenos Aires Times reported Tuesday that Marchetto filed a 40-page challenge to Federal Judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi’s decision to dismiss proceedings against President Javier Milei, Presidential Chief of Staff Karina Milei and nine other defendants. Prosecutor Eduardo Taiano had requested the dismissal, which Martínez de Giorgi issued Friday, Oct. 23. The newspaper said the judge’s order directs that the case file be archived once the ruling is final.
Marchetto argues that the judge’s review gave an incomplete picture of the evidence and ended the inquiry without adequate grounds. The appeal, as described by Buenos Aires Times, asks investigators to consider phone records, financial activity and Milei’s promotion together when examining whether there was coordination around the token’s launch.
The newspaper said the appeal describes three calls from businessman Mauricio Novelli to Milei and a return call from the president shortly before his Feb. 14, 2025, post on X. It also cites 87 transactions involving 74 wallets and about $13.5 million, which the appeal places in the seconds before Milei posted a code for buying the token.
Marchetto also asks investigators to trace where the money went and finish forensic reviews of digital devices associated with other people in the case, according to the report.
The investigation concerned suspected fraud and possible financial offenses tied to the token’s launch and Milei’s post. The judge’s dismissal of the case covered all 11 defendants; Buenos Aires Times reported that none had been summoned for formal questioning as a suspect before the ruling.
A federal court upheld an earlier decision removing Marchetto from the case as a private prosecutor. Argentina’s Federal Court of Criminal Cassation is reviewing his status. If the court recognizes his standing to appeal, a higher court could consider the dismissal before the case is definitively closed, the newspaper reported.
