The first challenge to the dismissals
Juan Patricio Marchetto, one of the investors claiming harm from the launch and collapse of the $LIBRA cryptocurrency promoted by Javier Milei, has filed the first appeal against the dismissal of the president, Karina Milei, and nine other defendants. Sponsored by lawyers Juan Grabois and Nicolás Rechanik, the appeal challenges the reasoning of federal judge Marcelo Martínez De Giorgi and the actions of prosecutor Eduardo Taiano, who had requested the dismissals. Other alleged victims, removed from their complainant roles, have also indicated they will appeal.[S1][S2]
Marchetto had been excluded from the case as a complainant, an exclusion upheld by the Federal Chamber. However, because the Federal Chamber of Criminal Cassation has yet to resolve his appeal to recover that status, he argues he retains the right to challenge the case closure so his participation is not decided too late. His filing criticized the judge for closing the case without exhausting pending evidence, pointing to contradictions in the ruling and a partial evaluation of the file.[S1]
Criticism of the judge and the prosecutor
The appeal targets a legal distinction Marchetto claims the judge ignored: the difference between finding insufficient evidence to prove a crime and concluding the investigated facts do not constitute a crime. Marchetto argues the ruling conflated both concepts to close the case without explaining why gathered elements did not justify continuing the investigation. The appeal also questions prosecutor Taiano, alleging delays in evidentiary measures, failure to call relevant witnesses, and failure to request statement hearings for the defendants while seeking closure during active proceedings.[S1]
The filing highlights pending measures that required deeper examination, including expanded forensic analysis of phones belonging to Orlando Mellino and Camilo Rodríguez Blanco, who allegedly received funds from Hayden Davis. It criticizes the decision not to summon Ariel Parkinson, Arturo Osete Herraiz, Marcelo and Leandro Aranda, and Yanina Nicoletti, Davis's initial lawyer in Argentina. The appeal contends that closing the investigation was premature given these pending measures and the absence of indagatory hearings for the eleven dismissed defendants.[S1]
Milei's calls before the cryptocurrency launch
The appeal focuses on communications between the president and Mauricio Novelli, a primary organizer under investigation, right before Milei posted about the crypto asset on his X account on February 14, 2025. Records cited in the appeal indicate Novelli called Milei at 18:44:32, 18:54:38, and 18:58:02. At 18:56:22, the president received an incoming call from the operator. The presidential message promoting $LIBRA was published at 19:01:22.[S1]
This timeline coincided with transactions executed right before the public post: 74 wallets executed 87 transactions totaling around 13.5 million dollars about 22 seconds before the publication. Marchetto argued that these records, trading prior to public dissemination, and the president's post enabling public entry into the contract must be evaluated together. The brief contends this evaluation is needed to clarify potential coordination among project preparers, early traders, and the president, while questioning the lack of inquiry into buyer funds and those receiving them.[S1]
The questioned technological report
Another part of the appeal disputes the report by the General Directorate of Investigations and Technological Assistance (DATIP), derived from electronic devices seized in the case. Judge Martínez De Giorgi considered an administrative investigation regarding improper access to reserved documents when evaluating this evidence. Marchetto objected, arguing that the administrative proceeding never proved the employee under investigation gave documents to journalists or third parties, nor that the report was altered, adding that the prosecutor's office had received a preliminary report.[S1]
