Has the scandal involving Argentine President Libra been confirmed? Records of seven phone calls and a $5 million agreement have been exposed.

Author: Deep Tide TechFlow

Deep Dive: The New York Times, citing phone records obtained by Argentine federal prosecutors, reported that President Milei spoke seven times with Novelli, a key figure in the LIBRA token project, on the evening of February 14, 2025, the same night he posted a promotional message. Investigators also found a draft of a $5 million promotional payment agreement on Novelli's phone. The token's market capitalization once surged to $4.6 billion before plummeting by over 90%, with approximately 114,000 wallets recording losses totaling $251 million. The Argentine Chamber of Deputies has reopened its investigation committee and began summoning senior government officials on April 8.

Argentine President Javier Milei is facing the most severe political crisis since taking office.

According to The Block, a New York Times investigative report published on April 6 revealed that phone records obtained by Argentine federal prosecutors showed that Milei had seven phone calls with Mauricio Novelli, a key intermediary in the LIBRA token project, on the night of February 14, 2025. This was the same night Milei posted the LIBRA token contract address on the X platform, triggering this crypto scam. The calls occurred before and after the promotional posts were published, directly contradicting Milei's previous repeated claims that he had "no connection whatsoever" with the project.

The token was created by Kelsier Ventures, the firm of American entrepreneur Hayden Mark Davis, with insiders controlling approximately 70% of the supply. Following Milei's promotional post, LIBRA's market capitalization surged from near zero to approximately $4.6 billion within minutes, only to plummet by over 90% within hours. Nansen data shows that approximately 86% of participants recorded losses, with about 114,000 wallets collectively losing approximately $251 million.

A draft $5 million agreement has surfaced, accelerating the disintegration of the "personal conduct" defense.

Beyond the call logs, investigators extracted even more damaging evidence from Novelli's seized phone.

According to crypto.news, a judicial update in March revealed that Novelli's phone contained a draft agreement concerning a $5 million arrangement related to the promotion of LIBRA, drafted just three days before Milei's post. While the document does not prove that Milei signed or actually received the funds, it contained a clear payment structure: part of the payment was triggered by Milei's public appointment of Davis as a cryptocurrency advisor.

Computer experts also confirmed that the 44-character LIBRA contract code that Milei attached to his promotional post had not appeared on any public online channels before his post. This means that Milei obtained internal technical information before the token's public release.

Furthermore, WhatsApp voice messages examined during the investigation revealed that Novelli regularly made payments to Milei during Milei's time as a member of Congress, with some payments directed at Milei's sister, Karina Milei, the president's chief of staff. According to a previous report by the Argentine investigative media outlet El Destape, these payments doubled after Milei was elected president in 2023.

From "Anti-Corruption Vanguard" to Subject of Investigation

This scandal has caused far more political damage to Milei than typical crypto scam controversies. Milei is currently listed as a "person of interest" in the ongoing investigation by federal prosecutors, but has not yet been formally charged.

In June 2025, Argentina's Anti-Corruption Office ruled that Milei had not violated public ethics rules, determining that his promotional posts were personal rather than official actions. However, this ruling now appears more like a political cover-up than a legal conclusion. Milei subsequently disbanded the Investigative Task Force (UTI) investigating the case in May 2025 with Decree No. 332/2025, after the UTI had submitted its insider trading investigation findings to the prosecutor. Even more intriguingly, just days before the disbandment order was signed, a judge had ordered the unfreezing of Milei and her sister's bank account records.

In Argentina, fraud carries a sentence of one month to six years. Opposition lawmakers have filed a motion for impeachment, and lawyers have filed formal fraud charges against Milei.

Congress reopened its investigation and began summoning senior government officials on April 8.

The release of new evidence quickly triggered a chain reaction of political events.

Opposition lawmaker Maximiliano Ferraro announced the formation of a special committee to review the latest evidence. At a press conference, Ferraro stated that the release and promotion of LIBRA was not an impromptu or accidental act, but rather a premeditated and coordinated operation.

Argentina's Chamber of Deputies began summoning government officials for questioning on April 8. Minister of Economy Luis Caputo, Minister of Justice Mariano Cúneo Libarona, and Cabinet Chief Guillermo Francos, among other high-ranking officials, are expected to testify. However, Milei himself and Karina Milei are not on the initial summons list, and the opposition has stated it will continue to pressure them to appear.

On-chain data recap: A textbook example of a Rug Pull

On-chain data provides a precise financial profile of this scandal.

At 6:58 PM Argentine time on February 14, 2025, Kelsier Ventures created the LIBRA token on the Solana blockchain. Three minutes later, at 7:01 PM, Milei simultaneously posted a promotional message on X, Instagram, and Facebook, including the token contract address. The price of LIBRA surged from $0.000001 to $5.20 within 40 minutes.

According to a previous report by The Block, eight wallets associated with the project cashed out approximately $107 million during the collapse. Nansen data shows that only 36 wallets each profited more than $1 million, with some wallets yielding profits as high as $70 million to $100 million. The Economist described this distribution pattern as consistent with insiders having prior knowledge of Milei's promotional posts.

After the collapse, Milei deleted the promotional posts and claimed that he "did not know the details of the project." In November 2025, the Argentine Congressional Investigative Committee determined that Milei provided "essential collaboration" for the project.

LIBRA scandal timeline

The key points are summarized as follows:

January 30, 2025 : Davis met with Milei at Casa Rosada, the presidential palace in Argentina. Milei posted a selfie on the X platform that day, referring to Davis as a cryptocurrency advisor.
February 11, 2025 : Draft date of the $5 million deal in Novelli phones.
February 14, 2025 : LIBRA token creation, Milei's promotional posts, token price surge followed by a crash, Milei and Novelli spoke 7 times that evening.
May 2025 : Milei disbanded the investigation team UTI by law.
June 2025 : The Anti-Corruption Office ruled that Milei did not violate public ethics rules.
November 2025 : Congressional investigation committee determined that Milei provided "critical collaboration".
December 2025 : According to Clarín, Davis had signed a confidentiality agreement with the Argentine government.
March 2026 : El Destape releases draft $5 million deal and call transcripts.
April 6, 2026 : The New York Times published an investigative report, fully disclosing details of the call logs.
April 8, 2026 : The House of Representatives reopened the investigation and began subpoenaing government officials.