A United Arab Emirates-linked entity agreed to purchase a 49% stake in the Trump family’s cryptocurrency firm, World Liberty Financial, for $500 million just days before President Donald Trump’s inauguration. According to a report, a large share of the proceeds flowed to Trump and Witkoff family entities. The deal preceded a Trump administration policy shift granting the UAE expanded access to advanced U.S. AI chips.
A UAE-backed entity tied to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed agreed to buy a 49% stake in Trump-linked crypto firm World Liberty Financial four days before President Donald Trump’s inauguration. The $500 million deal made the UAE-linked entity the crypto firm’s largest outside shareholder.
The primary agreement was signed by Eric Trump on behalf of the family’s crypto investment project. It involved an investment vehicle linked to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s national security adviser.
A large share of the proceeds flowed to Trump and Witkoff family entities, according to the report. Roughly $187 million went to Trump family entities and at least $31 million to Witkoff family-affiliated entities.
The deal came ahead of the Trump administration’s approval of expanded UAE access to advanced U.S. AI chips. Those chips had been restricted under the prior administration.
Senator Elizabeth Warren called the arrangement corruption. “This is corruption, plain and simple,” she stated, adding that “The Trump Administration must reverse its decision to sell sensitive AI chips to the United Arab Emirates.”
She said officials including Steve Witkoff and David Sacks must testify before Congress on evidence they sold out national security. Warren had previously requested an investigation into whether officials cashed in on foreign crypto deals.
Public affairs attorney Andrew Rossow suggested the transaction appears like a subscription for policy access. The “four-day window” for the deal’s signing appears as a massive red flag, he noted.
Rossow explained legal principles at play include the Foreign Emoluments Clause. Courts have struggled with whether business transactions at claimed market value qualify as prohibited emoluments, he said.
