New revelations from the mobile phone forensic analysis of Mauricio Novelli, the Argentine businessman who contacted President Javier Milei with the main promoter of the cryptocurrency $LIBRA, contradict the version of events the president gave after the scandal and cast doubt on the conduct of the prosecutor in the investigation. On February 14, 2025, the president posted on X in support of the launch of $LIBRA, which he said would be dedicated to “funding ventures and small businesses in Argentina.” Its value skyrocketed quickly before crashing three hours later, leaving thousands of investors harmed and triggering a series of judicial complaints both in the country and abroad. Milei initially pinned the post on his X profile before deleting it hours later and publishing another in which he withdrew his support for the project and stated he had no involvement nor was he “aware” of its details. However, the information revealed after the leak of Novelli's phone content casts doubt on that claim. Not only was a draft of a contract for “specialized advice on blockchain and cryptocurrencies” between Milei and $LIBRA's creator, Hayden Mark Davis, revealed, but a document of a five-million-dollar agreement—divided into three payments—in exchange for the president's support for the venture on his social networks also came to light. On January 29, Novelli met with Karina Milei, the president's sister and Chief of Staff of the Presidency, at the Executive Branch headquarters. From there, he began inquiries that continued the next day about Rolex watches, luxury cars, and properties in gated communities that could be acquired “without an invoice.” The next day, Davis arrived in Argentina for a meeting with Milei, which was also attended by Novelli and two of his partners. Phone records indicated that Novelli and Milei exchanged seven calls on the day of $LIBRA's launch: five in the hour before the president's social media post and two in the half-hour after. According to information gathered from Novelli's phone, the commercial exchange with Milei began in 2021, when the businessman started offering courses on digital investments from the N&W Professional Traders portal and brought the then-congressional candidate, who was already an “economic influencer,” on as a teacher and platform promoter. Regular payments to Milei and later also to his sister continued even after the current president took a seat in Congress. The prosecutor in the crosshairs The $LIBRA case investigation is being handled at Federal Court No. 8, under Judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi, and was delegated to Prosecutor Eduardo Taiano. Natalia Volosin, a lawyer and journalist who published part of the forensic report on her portal, La Justa, on March 6, explained to EFE that Novelli's phone was seized in March, but the prosecutor ordered the forensic analysis only in October, a few days before key legislative elections in which the ruling party was victorious. “It took seven months, and the report was not ready until after the elections,” added Volosin and emphasized that Taiano received the forensic report on November 17 and did not incorporate it into the file, nor share it with the parties or the judge for almost four months. The prosecutor's actions were repudiated by the parliamentary committee that investigated the $LIBRA case until November 2025. The deputies who were part of the committee announced this Monday that they would request Taiano's removal and would file two complaints with the Prosecutor General's Office, one for “obstruction of the investigation” and another for “possible cover-up.” Volosin, for her part, was summoned to give a statement, which was later annulled after the public outcry, and was the subject of a criminal complaint for the leak. “They want to force me to reveal my source,” she denounced, while also accusing herself of being intimidated. More than a year after the $LIBRA scandal and the start of the judicial investigation, neither Milei nor the other suspects have been summoned to testify in court, and the case has not seen significant progress. Despite the spread of these revelations in recent days, the president has not referred to the issue again and continues with his hectic international agenda and his incessant attacks, in speeches and on social networks, on opposition figures and journalism. Since early March, the far-right leader has traveled to the United States for a security summit and a meeting with investors, then to Chile for the inauguration of José Antonio Kast as president, and finally to Spain to attend the Madrid Economic Forum, during which he insulted the Spanish prime minister again, calling him “unpresentable.” Milei, who has centered much of his recent speeches on the defense of the United States and Israel in the war against Iran, will embark on a new international trip this Thursday, this time to Hungary, to participate in an event organized by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, one of his main European allies.
