Amidst the judicial expansion of the $LIBRA case, new examinations of businessman Mauricio Novelli's phone revealed a project to launch gold and silver coins featuring President Javier Milei. This initiative, according to documentation incorporated into the case file, aimed to monetize the president's image through commemorative coins and other products associated with his political identity. In their exchanges, they discussed the feasibility of launching a coin—or possibly a medal—with official validation, funding, commercial coverage, and sales projections in Argentina and abroad. According to the found documents, the project was already sketched out in 2023 and took shape throughout 2024. This initiative fuels suspicions of potential maneuvers incompatible with public office, private benefits linked to access to power, and the use of the presidential figure for commercial purposes. At the same time, the group was analyzing a 'Plan B' for global merchandising with t-shirts, caps, backpacks, flags, chainsaws, and even energy drinks under the Milei brand, reinforcing the idea of a comprehensive strategy to commercially exploit the presidential image. This material is now one of the elements that strengthen the suspicion of a much more intense commercial and political relationship between the President's inner circle and the project's promoters. The chats also reveal the economic magnitude envisioned for the business. The discovery has added a new front of discomfort for the Casa Rosada, as it is no longer just about the crypto universe under investigation, but also about alleged parallel businesses that directly approach the use of the presidential office for private gain. The material was recovered by experts from the General Directorate of Investigations and Technological Support for Criminal Investigation (DATIP) as part of the case led by Federal Prosecutor Eduardo Taiano and Judge Marcelo Martínez De Giorgi. The documents themselves stated that the authorization to use the image was still 'in the approval process,' a particularly sensitive detail concerning the country's highest authority. Although the plan never materialized and was halted after the $LIBRA scandal, its appearance in the case file further complicates the government's political situation. Later, on November 1, Novelli met with officials again, and on November 10, 2024, he presented the proposal to Quinta de Olivos. According to WhatsApp audio incorporated into the case file, he told his partners that 'J wants it to go ahead,' although he also warned of detractors within the presidential team. Furthermore, a production sample was minted in Germany in June 2024, while confidential ICV Advisors brochures described potential 'national and international' buyers, including companies, banks, institutions, and investors, and indicated the product would also serve as a savings instrument and value hedge due to the metal used. The plot becomes politically more delicate due to the official maneuvers surrounding the project. Records cited in the press indicate that Novelli, Canales, Beck, and businessman August François von Finck entered the Casa Rosada on April 5, 2024, for a meeting with the Chief of Staff of the Presidency, Karina Milei. The design included Milei's profile, his hair merged with a lion's mane, the slogan '¡Viva la libertad carajo!', and a sun on the reverse. In this context, the $LIBRA case has ceased to be merely an investigation into the crypto world: it is beginning to take shape as a broader case regarding the increasingly blurred line between government, official contacts, and business around the President's name. According to these conversations, it was projected to sell about 5,000 gold pieces and 20,000 silver pieces, with estimated values of around US$3,150 for the one-ounce gold coin and US$50 for the silver one, plus taxes. The group was called 'Proj. Argentina' and included Iván Canales Vandewijngaerden, executive director of ICV Advisors, and Gregor Beck, linked to the Bank von Roll of Switzerland and Degussa Goldhandel, one of Europe's major gold and silver distributors.
