Argentine President Milei and LIBRA scandal new evidence: 7 call records revealed, $5 million payment agreement surfaces

Argentina’s lower house has restarted the investigative committee, with government officials summoned from April 8.

By: Deep Tide TechFlow

**Deep Tide Quick Read: **A report by The New York Times, citing call records obtained by Argentine federal prosecutors, shows that on the night President Milei posted a promotional message for the LIBRA token on February 14, 2025, he spoke with Novelli, one of the project’s core figures, seven times. Investigators also found a draft agreement for a $5 million promotional payment in Novelli’s phone. After the token’s market cap briefly surged to $4.6 billion, it then plunged by more than 90%, with around 114k wallets recording losses totaling $251 million. Argentina’s lower house has restarted the investigative committee, with government officials summoned from April 8.

President of Argentina, Javier Milei, is facing the most severe political crisis since taking office.

According to a report by The Block, on April 6, The New York Times published an investigative report disclosing, based on call records obtained by Argentine federal prosecutors, that Milei spoke seven times that same evening on February 14, 2025 with Mauricio Novelli, the key intermediary for the LIBRA token project. This was the very night Milei posted the LIBRA token contract address on the X platform, triggering this crypto scam. The calls occurred before and after the promotional post was published, directly overturning Milei’s repeated claim that he had “no connection whatsoever” to the project.

The token was created by Kelsier Ventures, a company owned by U.S. entrepreneur Hayden Mark Davis, with insiders controlling about 70% of the supply. After Milei’s promotional post went out, LIBRA’s market cap skyrocketed from near zero to roughly $4.6 billion within minutes, then fell by more than 90% within a few hours. Nansen data shows that about 86% of participants in the trades recorded losses, with roughly 114k wallets combined losing about $251 million.

A $5 million draft agreement comes to light; the “personal conduct” defense collapses faster

Beyond the call records, investigators extracted even more damaging evidence from the phone seized from Novelli.

According to a report by crypto.news, a March judicial update this year revealed that there is a draft agreement stored on Novelli’s phone involving a $5 million arrangement related to the LIBRA promotion, with a drafting date only three days before Milei posted. While the document does not prove that Milei signed or actually received the money, it contains a clear payment structure: part of the payments would be triggered on the condition that Milei publicly appointed Davis as a crypto advisor.

Computer experts also confirmed that the 44-character LIBRA contract code attached by Milei to the promotional post had not appeared in any public network channel before Milei published it. This means that Milei obtained internal technical information before the token was publicly released.

In addition, WhatsApp voice messages reviewed in the investigation show that Novelli had been regularly paying Milei even while Milei was serving as a congressman; some payments pointed to Milei’s sister, the president’s chief of staff Karina Milei. As Argentine investigative media outlet El Destape previously reported, the amounts of the relevant payments doubled after Milei was elected president in 2023.

From “anti-corruption pioneer” to a subject of investigation

The scandal has done far more political damage to Milei than an ordinary crypto scam controversy. Milei is currently listed as a “person of interest” under ongoing investigation by federal prosecutors, but he has not yet been formally charged.

In June 2025, Argentina’s anti-corruption office ruled that Milei did not violate public ethics rules, and determined that his promotional post was personal conduct rather than official conduct. But this ruling now appears less like a legal conclusion and more like a political cover. Milei then dissolved the investigative working group (UTI) investigating the case in May 2025 via Decree No. 332/2025—an action that occurred after the UTI had already submitted the results of its insider-trading investigation to the prosecutors. More intriguing is that days before the dissolution order was signed, a judge had just ordered the unsealing of bank account records for Milei and his sister.

Argentina’s fraud crimes carry prison sentences ranging from 1 month to 6 years. Opposition lawmakers have submitted a motion for impeachment, and lawyers have filed formal fraud charges against Milei.

Congress restarts the investigation; officials summoned from April 8

The exposure of new evidence quickly triggered a political chain reaction.

Opposition lawmaker Maximiliano Ferraro announced the formation of a special committee to review the latest evidence. At a press conference, Ferraro said that LIBRA’s release and promotion were not spontaneous or incidental, but a premeditated and coordinated operation.

Starting April 8, Argentina’s lower house will summon government officials to testify under questioning. It is expected that senior figures such as Economy Minister Luis Caputo, Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona, and Chief of the Cabinet Guillermo Francos will appear to give testimony. However, Milei himself and Karina Milei are not on the initial summons list; the opposition has said it will continue to apply pressure to require both of them to appear.

On-chain data recap: a textbook Rug Pull

On-chain data provides an accurate financial profile for the scandal.

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

As The Block previously reported, eight wallets associated with the project cashed out about $107 million during the crash. Nansen data shows that only 36 wallets each profited more than $1 million, with some wallets earning as much as $70 million to $100 million. The Economist described this distribution pattern as consistent with insiders having known about Milei’s promotional post in advance.

After the crash, Milei deleted the promotional post and claimed that he “did not know the details of the project.” In November 2025, Argentina’s congressional investigation committee determined that Milei provided “key collaboration” for the project.

LIBRA scandal timeline

Key events are summarized as follows:

• January 30, 2025: Davis met with Milei at Casa Rosada, the Argentine presidential palace; on the same day, Milei posted a selfie on X and said Davis is a crypto advisor
• February 11, 2025: The $5 million draft agreement in Novelli’s phone—drafted date
• February 14, 2025: LIBRA token created; Milei posted to promote; token surged then crashed; Milei spoke with Novelli seven times that night
• May 2025: Milei dissolved the investigative working group UTI via decree
• June 2025: Anti-corruption office ruled that Milei did not violate public ethics rules
• November 2025: The congressional investigation committee ruled that Milei provided “key collaboration”
• December 2025: According to Clarín, Davis previously signed a confidentiality advisory agreement with the Argentine government
• March 2026: El Destape exposed the $5 million draft agreement and call records
• April 6, 2026: The New York Times published an investigative report with comprehensive disclosure of call record details
• April 8, 2026: The lower house restarts the investigation and begins summoning government officials