The ties of Argentina’s president Javier Milei to the collapsed memecoin LIBRA may be deeper than he admits. Phone log data has emerged showing seven calls between Milei and one of the project’s key participants on the night the token launched.
In February 2025, Milei promoted the Solana-based token on X. After that, LIBRA‘s market cap soared above $4 billion, but within hours the price crashed by more than 90% as insiders withdrew about $87 million in liquidity.
Investors lost about $250 million. This led to fraud accusations and a federal investigation, which remains open.
By June 2025, Argentina’s anti-corruption agency cleared Milei of charges, stating he acted as a private individual when he posted about the token.
According to The New York Times, citing Argentine TV channel C5N, the calls took place before and after Milei’s now-deleted post supporting the Solana-based token.
Opposition lawmaker Maximiliano Ferraro said the launch and promotion of LIBRA were not accidental.
“This was not improvisation or a mistake by the president. Everything looked like a planned and coordinated operation,” he said.
What Was Happening Behind the Scenes
Phone logs obtained as part of the federal prosecutor’s investigation show the calls took place on the night of February 14, 2025. Milei communicated with Mauricio Novelli, one of the entrepreneurs behind the token.
According to the report, that same evening Novelli also called two of Milei’s key advisers, including his sister Karina Milei.
A WhatsApp chat found on Novelli’s phone points to a financial relationship long before the token’s launch.
In a 2023 audio message, Novelli asks to “put up the usual 2,000 for Milei,” calling it a monthly payment. In another message from April 2024, he mentions “4,000 for Karina,” likely referring to the president’s sister.
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In addition, the phone contained draft documents describing a payment scheme for $1.5 million. According to the investigation, this money may have been linked to Milei publicly naming Hayden Davis as his adviser.
At the same time, there is no evidence so far that Milei agreed to or received any payments. The president of Argentina has not publicly commented on the phone logs or the mentions of transfers, and he has not been officially charged in these episodes.
Novelli’s lawyer told The New York Times that his client “has no connection to any violations.” He is also seeking to have the phone data excluded from the case, arguing the device may have been compromised during storage.
Zero Knowledge founder Austin Campbell noted that the new data could prompt a renewed investigation, despite the previous decision.
According to him, the crypto market as a whole faces a serious problem of hidden payments, opaque promotion, and outright scams.
“The industry urgently needs a system for disclosing such arrangements and payments. Without it, there will inevitably be serious civil and criminal consequences,” he said.
In May last year, Milei disbanded the government task force investigating the case. However, the federal criminal investigation led by prosecutor Eduardo Taiano is still ongoing.
