Fresh analysis of mobile phone records by prosecutors and investigators is casting doubt over Argentina’s President Javier Milei’s claim that his promotion of the '$LIBRA' cryptocurrency on social media was an innocent post.
The records show that Milei exchanged at least five phone calls and several messages with crypto entrepreneur Mauricio Novelli – an Argentine lobbyist linked to the launch of the digital token – in the minutes before publishing the message.
A note stored on Novelli’s phone also indicates that an agreement worth some US$5 million may have been drawn up in exchange for Milei’s public backing for the memecoin.
The file was stored in the Notes app on Novelli’s iPhone. Court documents describe him as one of the intermediaries between the cryptocurrency’s promoters and the President’s inner circle.
According to the contents of the document, the deal envisaged three payments totalling US$5 million. The scheme included an advance payment of US$1.5 million, another US$1.5 million linked to the promotion of the token on social media and a final US$2 million payment tied to the signing of a later contract.
The text is written in English and is believed to have been created on February 11, 2025, at 8.05pm – three days before Friday, February 14, when the President published a message on X promoting the cryptocurrency.
That post triggered an immediate surge in the price of the digital asset, followed shortly afterwards by a sharp collapse that left many investors with multimillion-dollar losses. Criminal complaints filed after the episode gave rise to the current investigation.
“Hi guys. This is the final agreement as discussed with H,” the document begins. Investigators believe “H” may refer to US businessman Hayden Davis, one of the promoters of the crypto project who met the President prior to the token’s launch.
“$1.5M of tokens or cash as upfront payment. $1.5M in tokens or cash – Milei announces on Twitter Hayden Davis/Kelsier/Davis family as his adviser,” read the first two points of the document.
Finally, a payment of US$2 million – also in tokens or cash – appears alongside the following note: “Contract signed in person by Milei for Blockchain/AI advisory services for the Argentine government and/or Javier Milei and a review with Javier and Karina over these two four-month periods.”
Timeline
Forensic analysis of mobile devices, ordered by federal investigators, has reconstructed a timeline of calls and texts that contradicts the official version that the President had no direct involvement in the operation.
In the hours leading up to – and at 7.01pm on February 14, the exact moment the investment code was posted on the President’s social media accounts – Milei and Novelli were in repeated contact.
Investigators are now examining whether it was Novelli who sent the head of state the alphanumeric code users needed to buy the token. After the value of $LIBRA collapsed and accusations began circulating on social media, the communications did not stop.
During the early hours of February 15, more than 20 calls and messages were recorded between Novelli, the President and his sister, Karina Milei, presidential chief-of-staff, according to domestic media reports.
Maximiliano Ferraro, a national deputy for the Coalición Cívica who heads the congressional committee investigating the affair, said the records also show that “Milei informed Novelli that he would give the interview to Jonatan Viale and they exchanged ideas about what to answer and what to keep quiet.”
“It is crystal clear that Novelli acted as the link between the President and Hayden Davis from the hotel in Dallas in the United States where the launch operation was being run. Now it is confirmed that they remained in constant contact while all this was taking place. Milei’s post was not an isolated event or a mistake,” the lawmaker said.
Investigators also uncovered a second document: a note written in Spanish outlining a possible public message designed to contain the fallout from the scandal.
“This is what I want for the tweet. This is the only thing that saves him, me and us,” the note begins.
“I want to clarify that I fully support the vision of the Libra coin. I met personally with everyone involved and expressed my support for their goals. While I have no financial interest in the project, I trust the people backing it,” the draft continues.
It then adds: “I am not very versed in memecoins, and when my political opponents began falsely accusing me of being…” The text cuts off at that point.
Based on its tone, the reference to political opponents and the repeated insistence that he had no knowledge of memecoins, investigators believe the document outlines a narrative intended for Milei to publish on social media or repeat in forthcoming interviews.
Novelli’s messages
Alongside the discovery of the documents, the courts are continuing to analyse communications stored on Novelli’s phone.
Experts are reviewing call records, messages and chat logs to reconstruct contacts made in the days before and after the launch of $LIBRA. The aim is to determine what kind of relationship existed between the project’s developers and the presidential circle.
The analysis has also shed light on the atmosphere surrounding the weeks leading up to the token’s launch. According to a report by the El Destape media outlet, messages on the device include references to the good run Novelli was enjoying at the time he had access to the Casa Rosada presidential palace.
Among the material is an audio message he sent a friend on January 31 in which he spoke about difficulties securing financing. “I had to score a last-minute goal to save the day, as always,” he boasted.
That same day, Hayden Davis was in Argentina after signing an agreement with Milei the previous day.
Other messages show Novelli organising a celebration after two days of meetings with the President and Karina Milei. In another exchange he celebrates closing a “tremendous” deal and says he “wants to celebrate.”
The conversations were linked to preparations for Tech Forum 2, an event planned for early April. According to sources familiar with the negotiations, the phone of organiser Manuel Terrones Godoy listed two confirmed speakers: President Milei and the then presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni, who now serves as Cabinet chief.
Novelli also played a central role on the night the crypto scandal erupted – February 14, 2025. At the time he was in Dallas, at the Ritz-Carlton Las Colinas hotel, inside a room rented by Davis for the project’s launch.
From there he communicated both with Buenos Aires and with contacts in Asia.
During that weekend his phone registered nearly 200 calls, according to forensic analysis conducted by Argentina’s Directorate-General of Investigations and Technological Support.
The report shows that in the minutes before the launch of $LIBRA he spoke by phone with Karina Milei and the President himself. He also spoke with Milei immediately after the post promoting the token was published at 7.01pm.
When the scandal began spreading on social media around 11pm, Novelli began a series of contacts with presidential adviser Santiago Caputo. The exchanges continued throughout Saturday and Sunday as Caputo took charge of managing the crisis. There were 13 calls between the two that weekend alone.
– TIMES/NA/PERFIL
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