Call logs reveal Argentine President Javier Milei’s possible active collusion in the $251 million Libra token scam

Newly uncovered call logs have provided prosecutors with much-needed evidence, allowing them to zero in on President Javier Milei’s direct communications with key figures behind the catastrophic collapse of the $LIBRA memecoin.

The short-lived token, hyped as a revolutionary tool to fund small businesses and startups, vaporised more than 96% of its value in hours, wiping out an estimated $251 million in retail investor capital and triggering fraud charges, impeachment calls, and a federal probe that now names the president himself as a person of interest.

The fresh evidence, obtained by Argentine prosecutors and first reported by The New York Times, shows seven phone calls between Milei and crypto lobbyist Mauricio Novelli on the night of February 14, 2025, the exact evening Milei posted on X promoting the token and sharing its Solana contract address.

Those calls occurred both before and immediately after the president’s viral endorsement, which sent $LIBRA rocketing from near-zero to a $4.6 billion market cap in minutes. The contents of the conversations remain unknown, but their timing directly contradicts Milei’s repeated insistence that he had “no connection whatsoever” to the project.

Inside the $251 million LIBRA collapse

For context, this wasn’t some random meme coin. $LIBRA was orchestrated by Kelsier Ventures, led by American entrepreneur Hayden Mark Davis, who had previously met with Milei at the presidential palace. Novelli, a long-time associate of Milei who once helped the then-candidate with online courses, acted as the central intermediary. Forensic analysis of Novelli’s phone, seized as part of the investigation, also uncovered a draft agreement dated three days before the launch, proposing a $5 million payout tied to Milei’s promotional support.

While the document doesn’t prove payment or acceptance, it has fuelled allegations of coordinated collusion in what blockchain forensic experts describe as a textbook rug pull: insiders holding roughly 70% of the supply allegedly dumped tokens for tens of millions in profits, while retail wallets, over 114,000 of them, recorded massive losses.

Milei’s X post was pure rocket fuel. “A few hours ago, I posted a tweet… supporting an alleged private venture with which I obviously have no connection whatsoever,” he later claimed after deleting the original messages. “I wasn’t aware of the details of the project, and after becoming aware of them, I decided not to keep promoting it.”

Yet the call logs, alongside earlier communications involving Milei’s sister and secretary general, Karina Milei, and presidential adviser Santiago Caputo, paint a picture of far tighter coordination. Prosecutors now view the episode as potential fraud, carrying prison terms of one month to six years.

The fallout has been brutal. Data from on-chain analysts like Nansen and Bubblemaps trace roughly $87 million to $100 million in insider outflows in the first hours, with only a handful of wallets cashing out big while the masses were “rugged”. 

Argentina’s Anti-Corruption Office had previously cleared Milei of ethics violations, classifying the post as personal rather than official. But the new judicial evidence has revived the case, prompting opposition lawmakers to reopen a parliamentary commission and lawyers to file fresh fraud complaints. Asset freezes targeting Davis and related entities are already in motion, and calls for impeachment have intensified.

Critics argue this scandal exposes the dark underbelly of “celebrity” memecoin endorsement, a menace that has undermined trust in memecoins. Milei, the self-described anarcho-capitalist who once brandished a chainsaw on the campaign trail to symbolise slashing government waste, positioned himself as crypto’s champion. His government had been courting the industry aggressively. Now, the very tool he touted as economic salvation stands accused of being a sophisticated pump-and-dump that preyed on his devoted base.

Milei’s office is yet to respond to the latest revelations, but the president has continued to dismiss the probe as politically motivated witch-hunting by his Peronist opponents. But with federal investigators pressing forward and international eyes on the case, the ugly $LIBRA chapter is one he likely wishes had never happened.