The Wall Street Journal reports that a United Arab Emirates investment vehicle acquired a major stake in a Trump-linked crypto firm just before his return to the White House. Aryam Investment 1, backed by UAE security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, paid $500 million for a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial in January 2025. A significant portion of the payment went to Trump family entities. The deal, signed by Eric Trump, was not publicly disclosed despite the later revelation of the Trump family’s reduced stake. This occurred amid Sheikh Tahnoon’s intensified efforts to secure U.S. AI technology following the election.
A UAE-backed investment vehicle agreed to purchase a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial for $500 million days before President Donald Trump’s return to office. The deal, signed by Eric Trump, directed $187 million to Trump family-controlled entities.
The buyer was Aryam Investment 1, an Abu Dhabi entity backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Tahnoon is the UAE’s national security adviser and brother of the country’s president.
Following Trump’s election, Tahnoon’s efforts to obtain advanced U.S. AI chips gained significant momentum. He met multiple times with Trump and senior officials, securing a commitment for the UAE to access hundreds of thousands of chips annually.
Executives from the AI company G42 helped manage the investment vehicle and took board seats at World Liberty. Weeks before the U.S.-UAE chip deal was announced, another Tahnoon-led firm used World Liberty’s stablecoin for a $2 billion investment into Binance.
World Liberty and the White House have reportedly denied any wrongdoing. Spokespeople stated that President Trump was not involved in the deal and that it did not provide any influence over US policy.
Last year, Democratic senators called for a probe into alleged links between World Liberty’s token sales and sanctioned foreign actors. They cited claims that its tokens were bought by addresses tied to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, as well as Russian- and Iranian-linked entities.
The controversy is heightened by an ownership structure that gives Trump family-linked entities control over most token revenue. This creates a potential conflict of interest as proceeds flow to the president’s family.
