$LIBRA scandal: leaked evidence shows calls incriminating Milei in scam

New evidence reviewed by the Herald on the $LIBRA scam shows that President Javier Milei spoke five times with businessman Mauricio Novelli — accused of introducing Milei to the creator of the token — minutes before the launch of the cryptocurrency, despite having stated he was not aware of the details of the project that would lead to millionaire losses. On February 14, 2025, Milei posted an X post supporting a new crypto token called $LIBRA, saying it would help fund small businesses in Argentina.  Many investors bought it, and its price skyrocketed, but it plummeted to virtually nothing over the next few hours after its developers withdrew large amounts of money from the project. Milei said in an interview that “there were many bots” among the buyers. “At best, there were 5,000 people. And the chances of there being Argentines are very low,” he stated. The president took down his post hours later, when the token’s value had already crashed, saying: “I wasn’t familiar with the details of the project, and after becoming familiar with it, I decided not to continue promoting it (that’s why I deleted the tweet).” He later denied being involved in the $LIBRA project, saying he did not endorse it but merely “shared” it. He added that the post was of a “personal,” not institutional, nature, as his X account does not state he’s the president but rather describes him as an “economist.” On that basis, he rejected accusations that he had violated the law by promoting a private investment while being president. The case is being investigated as a scam in Argentina and the United States, the country of origin of the crypto’s creator, Hayden Davis, who’s considered the main suspect. Novelli, fellow businessman Manuel Terrones Godoy, and former government advisor Sergio Morales are in the spotlight for their key role in the ruse. Morales, Novelli, and Terrones Godoy were present at a meeting between Milei and Davis in October 2024. It is believed the latter two were the ones who introduced Milei to Davis. According to a leaked report, a forensic examination of Novelli’s phone carried out by the General Prosecutors Office not only shows he spoke with Milei five times before the launch of the cryptocurrency and twice minutes after his post, but also with presidential secretary and Milei’s sister, Karina Milei, as well as with presidential advisor Santiago Caputo. A Congressional commission dedicated to investigating the $LIBRA case will give a press conference on Monday at 4 p.m. following the leak of the files. No charges While Milei is being investigated for his role in the Argentine $LIBRA case, he has not been charged with any crime so far. The damning information allegedly found on the leaked files was first revealed by La Nación journalist Hugo Alconada Mon. The Herald has gained access to the documents showing Milei’s ties with Novelli and Davis and is processing the 10,000-page file. Asked about the accusations in an interview with La Nación+ news channel, Chief of Staff and presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni said that the government “will never speak about rumors, articles, or news analysis” and that the alleged ties with Novelli and Davis are in “a part of the file that should be considered null.” “The judiciary has to continue investigating,” Adorni said, adding that he has known the Milei siblings “for years” and that they are “decent.” Sources with knowledge of the matter told the Herald that Novelli had asked the court to keep the results of his audits under legal secrecy to filter out personal information.  After the media leaked the documents, however, he desisted. The source added that Novelli’s defense could be planning to ask for the audit’s invalidation on the grounds that it was leaked to the press.  Timeline On February 14, 2025, before LIBRA’s launch, Javier Milei spoke with Novelli twice. One call at 6:56 p.m. lasted 13 seconds, and another at 6:58 p.m. went on for 1 minute and 13 seconds.  Given that Milei posted about LIBRA at 7 p.m., the second call presumably ended moments before or after the publication of the post. This contradicts Milei’s claims that he saw information about the cryptocurrency and shared it. After he published the link to the cryptocurrency, Milei spoke with Novelli at 7:03 p.m. (1 minute and 36 seconds) and again at 7:32 p.m. (59 seconds). The president answered another call from Novelli that day at 10:25 p.m. in a 4-minute, 29-second call, which took place after LIBRA had already crashed. Novelli called and spoke to the president’s sister, Karina Milei, at least nine times on the heels of the president posting the Libra link — four calls came on the day of Libra’s launch, at 7:17 p.m., 9:21 p.m., 9:23 p.m., and 9:29 p.m.  That day, the crypto entrepreneur called her three additional times without receiving an answer. Novelli spoke with Karina three times in the days following the scandal, between February 15 and 16. Presidential advisor Santiago Caputo also spoke to Novelli after the scandal was made public — two times near midnight on February 14, five times on February 15, and two times on February 16. Demian Reidel, who at the time was the head of Milei’s advising board and the president of the government’s nuclear power plant company, spoke with Novelli two times — once on February 14 and another time on February 15. Sources close to Reidel told the Herald that he only participated in “damage control” and was not part of the original scheme. Cover photo: Mauricio Novelli and Javier Milei