Argentina’s President Received $5 Million for Promotion of Failed Token Libra — El Destape, 2026/03/16 20:48:38

In the phone of crypto trader Mauricio Novelli, forensic experts uncovered a document that may represent an agreement for a $5 million payment for promoting the collapsed meme coin Libra by Argentine President Javier Milei. This discovery was reported by El Destape.

The document was found through the examination of devices seized from Novelli. The file was created on February 11, 2025—three days prior to Milei’s first mention of Libra on the social media platform X.

The text file, written in English, outlines a three-phase payment plan. Initially, it was proposed to transfer $1.5 million in liquid tokens or cash as an advance. Following this, another $1.5 million was to be paid after Milei publicly announced on social media X the appointment of Texas entrepreneur Hayden Davis as his advisor. The final tranche of $2 million was intended to be transferred after the president signed a formal consulting contract in the fields of blockchain and AI.

The document does not explicitly state who is to receive the payments. According to El Destape, the $5 million sum may have been intended for the president’s family and intermediaries who connected him with Davis as the primary organizer of the Libra project. This same amount had previously been publicly mentioned as a bribe by Argentine entrepreneur Diógenes Casares.

An analysis of calls from Novelli’s phone revealed coordinated communication surrounding the token’s launch. Milei wrote about Libra at 19:01 Argentine time on February 14, 2025. Just minutes before and after this, Novelli and Milei exchanged several calls: they spoke multiple times between 18:54 and 19:03. Subsequently, Novelli attempted to contact the president’s sister, Karina Milei. When the price of Libra sharply declined, Novelli frequently communicated with various presidential advisors.

Another note, dated February 16, 2025, found on Novelli’s phone, appears to be a draft of a public statement for Milei aimed at mitigating the fallout from the scandal, as suggested by El Destape journalists. The text includes supportive remarks regarding Libra but denies any financial connection between the president and the token.

The Libra scandal erupted on February 14 of last year when Milei promoted the token on social media X, describing the coin as a potential means to boost the country’s economy. The meme coin immediately surged over 3000%, only to plummet 90% from its all-time high within hours. Milei deleted the post and claimed he was unaware of the token’s details. The token briefly reached a market capitalization exceeding $4 billion, while eight wallets associated with the project withdrew $107 million.

Novelli is considered an intermediary in the Libra scheme: he is believed to have introduced Milei to Davis.

In November 2025, a group of Argentine Congress members concluded that Milei provided “significant support” to the crypto project and recommended assessing whether the president’s actions constituted an abuse of power.

Milei has denied any connection to the token and its developers. In June of last year, Argentina’s Anti-Corruption Office cleared him of allegations of violating ethical standards, determining that the post was personal rather than official. In May, the government disbanded its own investigative team that was handling the case.