US President Donald Trump said he was unaware of a reported multimillion-dollar deal involving his family and an Abu Dhabi royal for a major stake in the World Liberty Financial crypto platform.
“I don’t know about it,” Trump told reporters on Monday when asked about the arrangement. He added that the matter was being handled by his sons and other family members, noting they receive investments from various sources.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, acquired a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial (WLFI) for $500 million just four days before Donald Trump was inaugurated as US president.
The report cited WLFI documents and people familiar with the matter. It said the first tranche of funding, totaling $250 million, came from Tahnoon-backed firm Aryam Investment 1. Of that amount, $187 million was directed to Trump-family entities, while another $31 million went to a company linked to two of WLFI’s founders, Zak Folkman and Chase Herro.
The agreement would make Aryam the largest shareholder in WLFI, raising concerns about potential foreign influence in a US crypto firm closely associated with the president. Trump is listed as one of nine WLFI founders, alongside his sons Donald Trump Jr., Eric, and Barron.
Sheikh Tahnoon maintains close diplomatic ties with the United States and serves as chairman of Group 42, an Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence company that received approval from the US Department of Commerce in December to purchase advanced chips from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.
Senator criticizes Trump’s crypto ties
Reports of Sheikh Tahnoon’s stake in WLFI could intensify regulatory and media scrutiny of Trump’s links to the cryptocurrency sector.
In January, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren urged US banking regulators to delay consideration of World Liberty Financial’s application for a bank charter until Trump divested his interest in the company. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency later rejected Warren’s request, saying political or personal financial ties would not affect its review and that the application would be subject to the same “rigorous review” as any other.
WLFI spokesman David Wachsman echoed a similar view in comments to Bloomberg.
“The idea that, when raising capital, a privately held American company should be held to some unique standard that no other similar company would be held is both ridiculous and un-American.”
