An Argentine federal investigation has revealed that President Javier Milei had multiple phone calls with a key figure behind the LIBRA memecoin project on the night he promoted the token on social media, according to a report from The New York Times. Phone logs show seven calls between Milei and crypto lobbyist Mauricio Novelli, a central entrepreneur behind LIBRA, on the evening of March 2025 when the president posted about the cryptocurrency on X.
The LIBRA token, which Milei promoted online, briefly achieved a market capitalization exceeding $4 billion before collapsing by more than 90%. Investigators found that eight wallets linked to the project cashed out approximately $107 million during the crash, leaving investors with significant losses.
Although Milei has denied any wrongdoing, the ongoing probe names him as a person of interest. The contents of the calls remain unknown. This follows a November 2025 finding by an Argentine congressional committee that concluded Milei provided "essential collaboration" for the project and recommended Congress evaluate his actions.
Further allegations emerged in March 2026 from investigative outlet El Destape, which reported on a document recovered from Novelli's phone detailing an alleged $5 million payment agreement connected to Milei's promotion of the LIBRA memecoin. El Destape had previously reported forensic call records showing Novelli's devices were involved in coordinated communication surrounding the token's launch.
In a contrasting development, Argentina's Anti-Corruption Office cleared Milei in June 2025 of violating public ethics rules, determining his social media post was personal rather than official. Subsequently, his government disbanded an investigative task force probing the scandal, just days after a judge ordered the unsealing of bank records belonging to the president and his sister.
