Probe reveals document detailing alleged $5 million deal linking Milei to Libra promotion: report

A document recovered from the phone of crypto lobbyist Mauricio Novelli details an alleged $5 million payment agreement connected to Argentine President Javier Milei’s promotion of the Libra memecoin, according to an exclusive report published Saturday by Argentine investigative outlet El Destape.

The document was found during a forensic review of devices seized from Novelli conducted by Argentina’s Directorate of Technological Support for Criminal Investigations (DATIP), which operates under the country’s Public Prosecutor’s Office. The file was created on February 11, 2025, three days before Milei posted about Libra on X.

Written in English, the note opens with “Hello friends, this is the final agreement discussed with H” and lays out a three-tier payment structure: $1.5 million in liquid tokens or cash as an advance; another $1.5 million tied to Milei publicly announcing Hayden Davis as his adviser on X; and a final $2 million contingent on a formal blockchain and AI consulting contract signed in person by Milei, with review by both the president and his sister Karina Milei. The “H” is believed by El Destape to refer to Davis, the CEO of Kelsier Ventures and central figure behind Libra’s creation.

The document does not explicitly specify who would receive the payments. El Destape reported that the $5 million figure appears to correspond to amounts intended for the Milei siblings and the intermediaries connecting them to Davis’s operation, including Novelli, Manuel Terrones Godoy, and Sergio Morales.

The total aligns with a figure previously cited by Argentine entrepreneur Diógenes Casares, who said publicly after the scandal broke that he had been told a senior government official received a payment of that amount in connection with Libra. Despite calls from plaintiffs in the criminal case, Casares has not been summoned as a witness.

A trail of calls before and after the tweet

Forensic call records from Novelli’s devices show a pattern of coordinated communication surrounding the token’s launch, per the report. Milei posted about Libra at 7:01 PM Argentine time on February 14, 2025. In the minutes immediately before and after, Novelli and Milei exchanged a series of calls, with the two speaking multiple times between 6:54 PM and 7:03 PM. Novelli then attempted to reach Karina Milei, who called him back at 7:17 PM for a conversation lasting over two minutes.

As Libra’s price cratered that evening, the circle of contacts expanded. Between roughly 10 PM and midnight, Novelli spoke with presidential adviser Demian Reidel, Julian Peh of KIP Protocol, and Santiago Caputo, a senior Milei adviser. The calls between Novelli, Caputo, and Peh continued in rapid succession past midnight as the crisis deepened.

At 12:36 AM on February 15, KIP Protocol published a statement claiming Libra was a success and that Milei had no involvement in its development. Two minutes later, Milei posted that he had merely shared what he believed was a private venture and had no connection to the project.

Crisis messaging reportedly scripted in advance

A separate note dated February 16, 2025, also recovered from Novelli’s phone, appears to contain a draft public statement for Milei intended to contain the fallout, per the report. The note reportedly includes language expressing support for Libra while denying financial involvement, preceded by the phrase “this is the only thing that saves him, me, and us.”

Forensic analysis reported earlier this month by Argentine outlet La Nación found that Novelli and Milei exchanged at least five messages at 7:01 PM on February 14, the exact moment the Libra contract address was posted on X. Experts who testified before Argentina’s Congress confirmed the contract address was not publicly available online at the time Milei shared it, contradicting his claim that he found it on the internet.

Broader investigation context

The Libra token briefly reached a market capitalization above $4 billion following Milei’s post before collapsing more than 90%, with eight wallets linked to the project cashing out $107 million, The Block previously reported. An Argentine congressional committee found in November 2025 that Milei provided “essential collaboration” for the project and recommended Congress evaluate whether his actions constituted misconduct in office.

Milei has consistently denied wrongdoing. Argentina’s Anti-Corruption Office cleared him of violating public ethics rules in June 2025, concluding his post was personal rather than official. His government disbanded its own investigative task force probing the scandal in May 2025, days after a judge ordered the president’s and his sister’s bank records unsealed. A federal criminal investigation and a U.S. class action lawsuit remain ongoing.

Kelsier Ventures CEO Davis previously admitted on camera that his team “sniped” Libra at launch and acknowledged controlling wallets holding over $100 million in proceeds from the token.