Overview
- Phone logs obtained by Argentine prosecutors and reported by The New York Times on Monday revealed seven calls between President Javier Milei and Libra promoter Mauricio Novelli before and after Milei’s February 14, 2025 post endorsing the Solana-based token.
- Forensic work on Novelli’s phone surfaced draft agreements referencing up to $5 million linked to promotional actions, with no proof any payments occurred as his lawyer moves to exclude the phone evidence.
- After Milei’s endorsement, Libra’s value briefly topped about $4 billion and then fell more than 90%, with blockchain analyses estimating $251 million to $400 million in losses across roughly 114,000 investor wallets.
- Federal prosecutors have named Milei a person of interest in a still-open criminal investigation led by Eduardo Taiano, while Argentina’s Anti-Corruption Office previously concluded his post was made in a personal capacity.
- The new disclosures have triggered fresh calls in Congress for testimony and potential impeachment reviews, and legal experts note a fraud conviction in Argentina can carry up to six years in prison.