This move took place just before the US gave the green light to sell the most advanced AI chip to the UAE, raising a wave of suspicions about conflicts of interest and US national security.
According to an investigation by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan - UAE National Security Advisor, the most powerful official in the Abu Dhabi royal family, often called "spy Sheikh" by Western intelligence - through Aryam Investment company bought 49% of World Liberty Financial shares for about 500 million USD last year.
World Liberty Financial is the company behind stablecoin USD1, a digital currency anchored to USD, guaranteed by short-term US government bonds, USD deposits and cash equivalents. With this deal, Aryam became the largest shareholder and almost the only investor outside the founding group, according to WSJ.
Notably, World Liberty has President Donald Trump and special envoy Steve Witkoff holding the role of honorary co-founders, while management is undertaken by members of Mr. Trump's family and Witkoff. The agreement was signed by Eric Trump, Mr. Trump's son, just days before Mr. Trump's second term inauguration.
WSJ said that, according to the contract structure, about 187 million USD flowed into legal entities belonging to Mr. Trump's family, while 31 million USD belonged to entities of Mr. Witkoff's family.
The time of signing the deal was particularly sensitive. At that time, Sheikh Tahnoon was lobbying Washington to ease restrictions on the export of artificial intelligence chips. Previously, President Joe Biden's administration had blocked the sale of high-end AI chips to the UAE, fearing that US technology could be transferred to China.
However, in May, just a few months after the cryptocurrency deal was completed, the US agreed to allow the UAE to buy hundreds of thousands of advanced AI chips from Nvidia. According to the agreement, 20% of the chips will be allocated to G42, an AI company controlled by Sheikh Tahnoon himself.
This information immediately sparked controversy in the US Congress. Senator Elizabeth Warren, the highest-ranking Democratic figure in the Senate Banking Committee, called it "uncontested corruption" and asked the Trump administration to reverse its decision to sell sensitive chips to the UAE.
Ms. Warren also called on Mr. Steve Witkoff, the "AI and cryptocurrency king" of the White House, David Sacks, and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to testify before Congress to clarify whether US national security interests are being traded off to serve the cryptocurrency company associated with the President.
The White House rejected the accusation. Spokesperson Anna Kelly affirmed that "there is no conflict of interest", emphasizing that Mr. Witkoff is working to promote President Trump's foreign policy goals.
Meanwhile, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche also spoke out to defend the President on ABC's "This Week" program, saying the allegations were "unprecedented" and implying that Mr. Biden's administration had also faced similar criticisms before.
