A major foreign investment in a crypto venture tied to President Trump’s family is drawing attention after The Wall Street Journal reported that a senior UAE official acquired a nearly 50% stake in the company just days before Trump’s second inauguration.
According to the Journal, the investor was Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan — the UAE’s national security adviser and the brother of the country’s president.
The firm, World Liberty Financial, was launched in 2024 and has been described as a decentralized finance project in which Trump family entities could benefit financially through token-related revenue.
Democratic lawmakers and government ethics groups say large foreign investments involving businesses connected to a president’s family can raise legitimate transparency and conflict-of-interest questions, particularly when sensitive national security issues are also involved.
The deal was finalized shortly before Trump returned to office. Soon afterward, the U.S. approved expanded access for the UAE to certain advanced U.S.-made artificial intelligence chips — a policy shift that had been debated within the national security community.
White House officials and the company have denied that Trump played any role in the transaction or that it influenced U.S. policy, emphasizing that Trump’s business assets are held in a trust managed by his children.
As CNBC reported, World Liberty lists President Trump and his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, as “co-founders emeritus” and is operated by members of the Trump and Witkoff families. Months after Sheikh Tahnoun’s reported $500 million investment, the United States approved expanded UAE access to AI chips:
The deal, according to the Journal, was signed by Eric Trump in the days before his father’s second inauguration as president. It came as Tahnoon was seeking access to advanced artificial intelligence chips from the U.S., which the Biden administration had blocked over concerns that the chips would end up in China.
According to the Journal, the agreement saw roughly $187 million flow to Trump family entities and $31 million to Witkoff family entities.
In May, months after the deal between Tahnoon and World Liberty, the U.S. agreed to allow the UAE to purchase hundreds of thousands of advanced artificial intelligence chips from American chipmaker Nvidia. The agreement called for a fifth of the chips to go to Tahnoon’s own AI company, G42.
The Journal report has prompted new scrutiny of the Trump administration’s dealings with the UAE and Tahnoon, with some in Congress warning of potential conflicts of interest or corruption.
The episode is now fueling calls from Democrats for further review of foreign investment ties, technology policy and safeguards against potential conflicts in future administrations.
Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, told the Journal that “there are no conflicts of interest,” adding that Witkoff is working to advance President Trump’s agenda of promoting peace around the world.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche also defended the president during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” brushing off the criticism as “unprecedented.” He argued that the Biden family and the Biden administration engaged in similar conduct while in office, and that the backlash was politically selective.
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