The Argentine court has been asked to arrest allies of President Javier Milei in the LIBRA scandal.

A plaintiff in a criminal case in Argentina investigating the LIBRA scandal has requested the immediate arrest of two individuals closely related to President Javier Milei, who were involved in the token issuance in February.

Recent developments in the investigation have indicated that President Milei has underestimated the number of Argentine retailers affected by the decline in LIBRA prices.

The judge considers the request for arrest

The investigation into the LIBRA scandal in Argentina continues to complicate the situation for individuals involved in the token issuance. This week, both the congressional committee and the parallel criminal investigation into the case have seen new developments.

Martín Romeo, an expert in the field of cryptocurrency and the temporary plaintiff in the investigation, has requested federal judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi to issue an arrest warrant for Mauricio Novelli and Manuel Terrones Godoy, two advisors to the president, who were quickly implicated in the token issuance.

This request was made after the National Assembly committee announced a series of information. When analyzing this data for the criminal investigation, Romeo concluded that Novelli, Terrones Godoy, and American investor Hayden Davis—who was also involved in the token issuance of LIBRA—had conducted several unusual transactions before the scandal occurred.

Based on the information gathered, Romeo has requested the court to issue an arrest warrant for Novelli and Terrones Godoy, who are residing in Argentina. He argued that they pose a flight risk, as Novelli holds Italian citizenship and Terrones Godoy has permanent residency in Mexico.

The judge has not yet made a ruling on this request. However, recent findings have provided clear evidence against individuals closely related to the LIBRA scandal.

Transaction Data Collection Committee

The National Assembly, led by Representative Maximiliano Ferraro, has recently received new information regarding individuals involved in the issuance of LIBRA.

“Based on the information requests that we have sent to several cryptocurrency trading platforms, we have collected data that not only directly refutes the claims of President Milei but also begins to establish a connection between key figures, both domestic and international,” Ferraro said in an interview.

Among the platforms that have responded are Binance and Gate, confirming that Novelli has a virtual wallet with Binance, while Terrones Godoy has a wallet with Gate. This information has helped the congressional committee and the plaintiffs in the criminal investigation reconstruct the financial chain before and after the token issuance.

Davis transfers money after the meeting with Milei

Romeo, who had accessed information from the congressional committee, began to monitor transactions from the wallet addresses of Novelli and Terrones Godoy at the time of the token issuance of LIBRA.

He has also traced Davis's wallet address since Davis returned the 5 million USD he lost after the LIBRA token issuance to Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy.

On January 30, Milei hosted Davis at Casa Rosada, the headquarters of the executive branch in Buenos Aires. Romeo discovered that Davis had conducted two transactions totaling 1,015,000 USDT to a Bitget account on the same day. A few days later, 695,000 USD of that amount was transferred to Novelli's Binance wallet, while the remaining 320,000 USD was sent to a small private bank in Argentina associated with Novelli and Terrones Godoy.

“What I don't know, because I haven't received that information, is who owns the BitGet account,” Romeo clarified.

On February 3, just eleven days before the token issuance of LIBRA, Davis conducted another transaction, sending 1,991,000 USDT to an unidentified BitGet account.

“800,000 USD was transferred to a hot wallet that I don’t know who it belongs to, and I don’t know if I can track that or not, while the remaining 1,191,000 USD was sent to a bank related to Novelli and Terrones Godoy,” Romeo explained.

A day later, security cameras recorded Novelli, his mother, and his sister operating with several safety deposit boxes at a Galicia bank branch in the Martínez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. The video shows Novelli's mother and sister carrying a backpack and a handbag, the contents of which could not be identified.

According to Ferraro, the congressional committee is currently analyzing the hypothesis of whether the money that Novelli and Terrones Godoy received through the private bank is the money that Novelli had held at the Galicia branch. They are also considering whether Novelli withdrew that money from the safety deposit boxes after the issuance of LIBRA.

In addition to the transactions that the congress committee and Romeo have monitored, information from centralized exchanges further complicates Milei's involvement in token issuance of LIBRA.

Official data contradicts the President's statement

In a national television interview a few days after the sharp drop in LIBRA prices, Milei stated that the number of Argentine investors affected by the token issuance was very small.

However, according to information received by the National Assembly from Ripio, a leading centralized exchange in Argentina, the data shows a different picture.

“Ripio has informed us that 1,358 local residents have purchased the $LIBRA token, while Milei himself stated that 'no more than five Argentines' were affected. He lied on national television to downplay a major scam,” Ferraro emphasized.

This data does not take into account the number of Argentinians who have used decentralized platforms to purchase tokens, as well as those who have bought LIBRA abroad.

He also stated that Milei has not yet explained how he obtained the 43-character contract that he posted on his X account to promote LIBRA, as this information was not made public prior to that message.

Last month, the congressional committee also summoned Milei and his sister, Karina, who currently holds the position of Secretary to the President, to provide testimony about their involvement in this event.

“President Javier Milei has not responded to the request we sent twice, which included a fairly simple and concise questionnaire. His sister, Karina Milei, also did not appear to provide testimony on the two summoned occasions, nor did she propose any alternative dates,” Ferraro added.

Novelli and Terrones Godoy, who were also summoned by the committee, did not appear.

On Tuesday, the committee approved an official summons for Milei to testify. They also authorized Ferraro to seek assistance from law enforcement to ensure the appearance of his sister, Karina, along with Novelli and Terrones Godoy.

“If they do not come to testify, we will exercise this right as soon as the Federal Court issues a ruling on our appeal,” Ferraro said.

Mr. Teacher