Phone logs reveal Argentine President Javier Milei had seven calls with crypto lobbyist Mauricio Novelli on the night in 2025 when Milei posted about the LIBRA token on X, according to New York Times reporting. The LIBRA cryptocurrency briefly reached a $4 billion market cap before collapsing over 90%, with eight wallets cashing out $107 million and causing millions in investor losses. A document from Novelli's phone details an alleged $5 million payment agreement for Milei's promotion, though Milei denies wrongdoing and Argentina's Anti-Corruption Office cleared him in June 2025. A federal investigation naming Milei as a person of interest continues as of April 2026, while an Argentine congressional committee found he provided essential collaboration and recommended legislative evaluation of his actions.
Phone calls between Milei and LIBRA project leader
- ▪Javier Milei had phone calls with crypto lobbyist Mauricio Novelli, a key figure behind the launch of the LIBRA token
- ▪Phone logs show seven phone calls between Argentinian President Javier Milei and one of the entrepreneurs behind the LIBRA cryptocurrency on the night in 2025 when Milei posted about LIBRA on X
- ▪Mauricio Novelli and Javier Milei exchanged a series of calls on the night that Milei posted about the LIBRA project
- ▪The contents of the phone calls between Javier Milei and Mauricio Novelli are unknown
LIBRA token's rise and collapse
- ▪Eight wallets linked to the LIBRA project cashed out $107 million
- ▪Javier Milei promoted the LIBRA token online by posting to X more than a year before April 2026
- ▪Javier Milei later deleted his X posts about the LIBRA token
- ▪The LIBRA token briefly achieved a market cap exceeding $4 billion before quickly collapsing by more than 90%
Investigations and allegations of wrongdoing
- ▪A document recovered from Mauricio Novelli's phone details an alleged $5 million payment agreement connected to Javier Milei's promotion of the LIBRA memecoin
- ▪A federal investigation naming Javier Milei as a person of interest is ongoing as of April 2026
- ▪An Argentine congressional committee found in November that Javier Milei provided essential collaboration for the LIBRA project
- ▪An Argentine congressional committee recommended Congress evaluate Javier Milei's actions regarding the LIBRA project
- ▪Javier Milei has denied any wrongdoing regarding the LIBRA token project
Government response and cleared charges
- ▪Argentina's Anti-Corruption Office cleared Javier Milei of violating public ethics rules in June 2025
- ▪Argentina's Anti-Corruption Office concluded Javier Milei's post about LIBRA was personal rather than official
- ▪Javier Milei's government disbanded an investigative task force probing the LIBRA scandal days after a judge ordered the president's and his sister's bank records unsealed
Perspective of Argentine congressional committee
- ▪The Argentine congressional committee's November findings suggest Javier Milei's involvement went beyond casual endorsement to essential collaboration
Perspective of LIBRA investors
- ▪LIBRA token holders view the $107 million wallet cashouts as a planned exit scam facilitated by presidential promotion
Perspective of Federal investigators
- ▪Federal investigators consider the $5 million payment agreement document recovered from Mauricio Novelli's phone as potential evidence of quid pro quo arrangements
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