During a Senate hearing, Senator Elizabeth Warren pressed the Comptroller of the Currency to deny or delay a national trust bank charter application from President Trump’s crypto company, World Liberty Financial. She cited a $500 million foreign investment from a UAE entity and national security concerns. The regulator, Jonathan Gould, refused to treat the application differently, stating he would process it “as we process all applications,” which Warren warned would make him an “accomplice” in corruption.
The nation’s top bank regulator refused to delay or deny a bank charter application from a President Trump-affiliated crypto company during a Senate Banking Committee hearing. Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren pressed Jonathan Gould, Comptroller of the Currency, to reject or pause World Liberty Financial‘s pending national trust bank charter.
Warren cited the UAE’s $500 million stake in the firm, Trump’s unresolved financial conflicts, and Gould’s own conflict of interest as a presidential appointee. She stated, “President Trump’s crypto company is now at the center of perhaps the most disgraceful Presidential corruption scandal in U.S. history.”
When pressed on whether the regulator would deny or delay the review, Gould declined. He said his agency would process the application “as we process all applications,” adding, “The only political pressure I have felt from any part of the U.S. government, Senator, is from you.”
Warren retorted that it was pressure to follow the law and that following it would require rejecting the application. She cited a report showing Aryam Investment 1, a vehicle linked to UAE national security advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, purchased a 49% stake for $500 million just before Trump’s inauguration.
The deal allegedly directed roughly $187 million to Trump family entities and at least $31 million to Witkoff-linked entities. Warren noted OCC rules require disclosure of any entity with a 10% or greater interest, with failure being grounds for dismissal.
Gould declined to confirm whether the foreign ownership disclosure was made. When pressed further, he stated, “Unlike the last four years of the Biden administration, under President Trump’s leadership, we are actually doing what we say we will do.”
Warren asked Gould to share the unredacted application with her and Committee Chairman Tim Scott in camera, to which Gould said he would “be happy to entertain your request.” Forty-one House Democrats recently warned Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that approving the charter could threaten the banking system’s legitimacy and independence from foreign actors.
