Scandal Around the UAE: How Trump's Crypto Project Hid Investments from the Emirates

Donald Trump stated at a press conference that he is unaware of the investments made by members of the ruling family of the UAE in the crypto project World Liberty Financial. According to him, “his sons are handling it.” However, an investigation by The Wall Street Journal revealed that the Aryam Investment 1 fund from Abu Dhabi, linked to Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, secretly acquired 49% of the shares in World Liberty Financial. This shifts the focus from a simple family business to a large-scale international deal, which has sparked a political scandal in the United States.

Trump’s Crypto Project Attracted UAE Investments Through a Closed Scheme

The agreement was finalized in January 2025, just four days before the presidential inauguration. The document was signed by Eric Trump, Donald’s second son. As of June, the Trump family’s stake in World Liberty Financial was about 40%, but investments from the UAE transformed the fund into a clearly international project. Sheikh Tahnoun — UAE National Security Advisor and brother of President Mohammed bin Zayed — became an investor in the large-scale project.

The company is managed by Zak Whitcoff, son of Steve Whitcoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East. The public was not informed about the agreement between WLF and UAE investors, raising questions about the transparency of the deal.

How $500 Million from the UAE Is Connected to American AI Technologies

According to journalists, $500 million was channeled into the deal through structures linked to the Trump family. Simultaneously, Sheikh Tahnoun actively lobbied for UAE access to advanced American AI chips — technologies that were previously under export restrictions.

The connection between these investments and changes in U.S. policy toward the UAE appears obvious to critics. In May 2025, the U.S. and UAE signed an agreement to establish the largest AI campus outside America. Two weeks prior, World Liberty Financial announced it had raised $2 billion from the state Emirati company MGX.

Corruption or Conflict of Interest? U.S. Congress Reacts

Democrats in Congress called the deal an act of corruption. Senator Chris Murphy pointed out that the UAE investor “secretly transferred $187 million to Trump, and $31 million to his top Middle East representative,” after which the administration granted this investor access to “secret defense technologies.”

Senator Elizabeth Warren described the situation as “simple and clear corruption” and demanded the cancellation of the U.S. export license for AI chips to the UAE. Congressman Greg Landsman also called the deal “blatant corruption,” adding to the president: “He gets richer every day. You get poorer. That’s his presidency.”

The Role of the USD1 Stablecoin in the Financing Scheme

A key detail is the funding structure through the project’s own stablecoin. World Liberty Financial issued USD1, and this asset was used in the $2 billion deal with MGX. This provided WLF with potential tens of millions of dollars in income from interest on government bonds, which serve as collateral for the stablecoin and are received by the issuing company.

The White House and World Liberty Financial itself denied any direct link between UAE investments and changes in U.S. policy regarding Emirati technologies. However, the chronology of events and the scale of financial flows have led the public and opposition to doubt the official explanations.

Crypto Project at the Center of a Political Conflict

In fall 2025, The New York Times published its own investigation, pointing to possible overlaps between Whitcoff’s business interests and his diplomatic activities. In response, Donald Trump filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the NYT, claiming that the publication in 2024 damaged his reputation and related crypto projects.

Current values of World Liberty Financial (WLFI) stand at $0.11, with a 24-hour increase of +3.41%. The meme coin TRUMP is trading at $3.60, showing a +5.41% rise over the day. However, the political scandal and media investigations will influence investor perception of these assets amid ongoing debates about conflicts of interest and the role of cryptocurrencies in American politics.