Argentine court probe finds alleged US$5 million deal tied to Milei’s promotion of $LIBRA
The timing outlined in the draft overlaps with events that later became part of the broader scandal
Argentina’s judicial investigation into the collapse of the $LIBRA cryptocurrency has added a new and potentially damaging element for President Javier Milei. A draft recovered from businessman Mauricio Novelli’s phone describes an alleged US$5 million agreement in exchange for presidential backing for the project, based on forensic material incorporated into the case file. Investigators were able to restore the deleted note, although there is still no public proof that any such agreement was formally validated by the government.
The text was found among notes stored on Novelli’s phone and appears to have been written between October and November 2024, before Hayden Davis — the businessman linked to the crypto venture — traveled to Argentina. In the recovered draft, Novelli wrote: “Hello friends, this is the final agreement discussed with H,” an apparent reference to Davis, the chief executive associated with the company behind the token launched on Feb. 14, 2025.
According to the document, the arrangement included a US$1.5 million advance payment, another US$1.5 million once “Milei announces on Twitter that his adviser is Hayden Davis/Kelsier/the Davis family,” and a further US$2 million for an in-person contract with Milei related to blockchain or artificial intelligence advisory work for the Argentine government and/or Milei, plus a review involving both Javier and Karina Milei.
The timing outlined in the draft overlaps with events that later became part of the broader scandal. On Jan. 30, Milei met Davis at the Casa Rosada and later posted a selfie with him on X, describing the American as someone advising him on cryptocurrency matters. That image drew attention in Argentina’s crypto sector, where Davis was largely unknown before the encounter.
The court file also includes telephone records showing intense contact between Novelli and Milei’s closest circle in the hours before the launch of $LIBRA and after its collapse. Investigators found dozens of calls and messages exchanged around the key moments of the token’s release.
$LIBRA was launched on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. Milei promoted it from his X account as a private initiative supposedly aimed at “encouraging the growth of the Argentine economy” by funding small businesses and start-ups. His post included a website link and the contract code that allowed users to buy the token.
The presidential endorsement triggered a rush of investment. The asset rose quickly and then collapsed within hours. A small group with early or privileged access made millions, while thousands of other buyers lost their money.
The case has since evolved into what investigators are treating as a possible transnational fraud scheme and has become the most serious scandal to hit Milei during his presidency.
In the days after the collapse, Milei tried to distance himself from the operation. He said he had simply copied the contract code needed to buy $LIBRA from the internet and posted it on X. But computer experts called by Congress concluded that the 44-character code — a combination of numbers and upper- and lower-case letters — was not publicly available online at the time Milei published it.
Those findings, combined with the recovered draft and the communications records, have added fresh pressure on the president as the criminal investigation moves forward.
