Argentine Justice carried out a raid on Friday at the home of businessman Mauricio Novelli, who is being identified as an intermediary between the creator of the cryptocurrency $LIBRA and President Javier Milei. The offices of Tech Forum, where the meeting between Novelli and Milei took place, were also raided.
According to information provided by the local media La Nación, the raids were conducted three weeks after the launch of the cryptocurrency $LIBRA, which experienced a significant increase in value after a social media post made by President Milei, followed by a sharp drop that caused significant losses to investors.
These raids constitute the first relevant measure ordered by federal prosecutor Eduardo Taiano, who is in charge of the investigation of the case under the supervision of federal judge María Servini. According to an investigation by The New York Times, Novelli reportedly received payments ranging from $50,000 to $500,000 from businessmen in the cryptocurrency field in exchange for facilitating meetings with Milei during the Argentina Tech Forum, a technology event he organizes. Both Argentine and U.S. justice are investigating this case.
The investigation also mentions Hayden Mark Davis, the creator of the cryptocurrency $LIBRA, who claimed to have influence over Milei's public activities, hinting that such influence comes at a high cost. "I have control over many of those things, from Milei's tweets to all the public appearances of Milei, like appearing at events, etc.," Davis said in an audio obtained by the New York newspaper.
On the other hand, Novelli and Davis, who met at a cryptocurrency event in Denver, visited Argentina's presidential offices before the conference in Buenos Aires, where they were received by Karina Milei, sister and Chief of Staff of Javier Milei.
The scandal has already led to the first resignation of a public official. Sergio Morales, being investigated in relation to the case, resigned from his position as an advisor on cryptocurrencies at the National Securities Commission. Morales had previously worked at the General Secretariat of the Presidency, led by Karina Milei. Investigations continue to shed light on this controversial case.
