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

Author: Deep Tide TechFlow

Deep Tide Reader: A New York Times report, citing phone call records obtained by Argentine federal prosecutors, shows that on the night President Milei posted a promotion for LIBRA tokens on February 14, 2025, he spoke with Novelli, a key figure behind the project, seven times. Investigators also found a draft agreement for a $5 million promotional payment in Novelli’s phone. After the token’s market capitalization surged to as high as $4.6 billion, it then plunged by more than 90%; about 114k wallets recorded losses, with total losses reaching $251 million. Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies has restarted its investigative committee and will summon senior government officials starting April 8.

Argentine President 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 revealing that phone call records obtained by Argentine federal prosecutors show that on the night of February 14, 2025, Milei spoke seven times with Mauricio Novelli, a key intermediary for the LIBRA token project, T. This was the same night Milei posted the LIBRA token contract address on the X platform—igniting this crypto scam. The calls took place before and after the promotional post was published, directly undermining Milei’s repeated claim that he had “no involvement with the project.”

The token was created by Kelsier Ventures, the company of 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 surged from nearly zero to about $4.6 billion within minutes, then fell by more than 90% within a few hours. Nansen data shows that roughly 86% of trading participants recorded losses, with about 114k wallets combined losing about $251 million.

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

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

According to crypto.news, a judicial update released this March disclosed that Novelli’s phone contained a draft agreement 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 payment was conditioned on Milei publicly appointing Davis as a crypto advisor.

Computer experts also confirmed that the 44-character LIBRA contract code Milei attached to his promotional post did not appear in any public network channels before he posted. This means Milei had obtained internal technical information before the token was publicly released.

In addition, WhatsApp voice messages reviewed in the investigation indicate that Novelli was already regularly paying Milei even while Milei was serving as a member of Congress; some payments pointed to Milei’s sister and chief of staff Karina Milei. According to prior reporting by Argentine investigative outlet El Destape, the relevant payments doubled after Milei was elected president in 2023.

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

The political damage to Milei from this scandal goes far beyond a typical crypto scam controversy. Milei is currently listed as a “person of interest” in a continuing investigation by federal prosecutors, but he has not been formally charged yet.

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

The刑 penalties for fraud in Argentina range from 1 month to 6 years. Opposition lawmakers have tabled a motion to impeach, and lawyers have filed formal fraud charges against Milei.

Congress restarts the investigation; officials to be summoned starting April 8

The rapid exposure of new evidence triggered an immediate 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 the release and promotion of LIBRA was not spontaneous or coincidental, but a planned and coordinated operation.

Starting April 8, Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies will summon government officials to testify under questioning. Senior figures are expected to appear, including Economic Minister Luis Caputo, Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona, and Chief of Cabinet Guillermo Francos. However, Milei himself and Karina Milei are not on the initial list of those to be summoned; the opposition has said it will continue to apply pressure to require both to appear.

On-chain data replay: a textbook Rug Pull

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

At 6:58 p.m. Argentine time on February 14, 2025, Kelsier Ventures created the LIBRA token on the Solana blockchain. 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 jumped from $0.000001 to $5.20 within 40 minutes.

As The Block reported earlier, 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; some wallets’ profits were as high as $70 million to $100 million. The Economist described this distribution pattern as consistent with insiders having advance knowledge of Milei’s promotional post.

After the crash, Milei deleted the promotional post and claimed that he “did not know the details of the project. In November 2025, an Argentine congressional investigative committee found that Milei provided ‘essential collaboration’ to the project.”

LIBRA scandal timeline

Key points are as follows:

January 30, 2025: Davis met with Milei at Argentina’s presidential palace, Casa Rosada; on the same day, Milei posted a selfie on X and called Davis a crypto advisor

February 11, 2025: the draft $5 million agreement in Novelli’s phone, drafted on this date

February 14, 2025: LIBRA token creation, Milei posts promotional content, token surges and then crashes; Milei spoke with Novelli seven times that night

May 2025: Milei dissolved the investigative working group UTI by decree

June 2025: the anti-corruption office ruled Milei did not violate public ethics rules

November 2025: the congressional investigative committee found that Milei provided “essential collaboration”

December 2025: according to Clarín, Davis signed a confidentiality advisory agreement with the Argentine government

March 2026: El Destape revealed the $5 million draft agreement and call records

April 6, 2026: The New York Times published an investigative report with comprehensive release of call record details

April 8, 2026: the Chamber of Deputies restarts its investigation and begins summoning government officials