A UAE investment firm backed by a powerful royal has purchased a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company tied to the Trump family, for $500 million just days before Donald Trump's second inauguration. The deal, reportedly aimed at securing access to US AI technology, has sparked ethics concerns amid ongoing crypto legislation. Critics, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, have called for congressional scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest.
World Liberty Financial (WLF), a crypto firm in which the Trump family originally held a 75% interest, sold a 49% stake to Aryam Investment, a UAE firm backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The transaction, valued at $500 million, was signed four days before President Trump's second inauguration in January 2025, at a time when WLF had yet to launch any products. The deal was approved by Eric Trump, and documents indicate $31 million would flow to entities linked to US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff's family.
Sheikh Tahnoon, UAE national security adviser and brother to President Mohamed bin Zayed, chairs AI firms MGX and G42, which have faced US scrutiny over potential technology transfers to China. In March 2025, MGX invested $2 billion in Binance using WLF's stablecoin USD1, though no prior mention was made of its affiliates' stake in WLF. Earlier concerns from Republican lawmakers, including a 2024 letter by Mike Gallagher, highlighted G42 CEO Peng Xiao's alleged ties to Chinese entities supporting military and human rights issues.
Despite Biden-era restrictions fearing diversion to China, the US approved UAE access to 500,000 AI chips in May 2025, with a portion allocated to G42. Two months post-inauguration, Tahnoon met Trump and Witkoff to finalize a deal enabling 500,000 chips annually for UAE AI data centers, closing in March and positioning the Gulf state as a major AI player. During a May presentation, Trump praised Tahnoon as his 'wonderful brother' to the UAE president.
The investment marks the first known instance of a foreign official acquiring a major stake in a company linked to an incoming US president, raising alarms as crypto infrastructure bills advance. Senator Elizabeth Warren demanded a hearing, stating, “Congress needs to grow a spine and put a stop to Trump’s crypto corruption.” A WLF spokesman, David Wachsman, insisted Trump and Witkoff had no involvement since taking office and that Witkoff never held an operational role. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly affirmed, “President Trump only acts in the best interests of the American public,” noting his assets are in a trust managed by his children with no conflicts.
