{"id":109283,"date":"2026-02-05T10:33:03","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T15:33:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/?p=109283"},"modified":"2026-02-05T10:33:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T15:33:03","slug":"us-lawmakers-probe-500-million-uae-linked-investment-in-trump-associated-crypto-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/us-lawmakers-probe-500-million-uae-linked-investment-in-trump-associated-crypto-project\/109283\/","title":{"rendered":"US lawmakers probe $500 million UAE-linked investment in Trump-associated crypto project"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A political and crypto-linked controversy has surfaced in Washington following reports that a group connected to a UAE royal invested $500 million in World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency project associated with the Trump family.<\/p>\n

The investment has prompted a congressional investigation led by US Representative Ro Khanna, who is examining whether the transaction raises conflict-of-interest or national security concerns. The deal\u2019s timing, completed just days before Donald Trump formally returned to the White House, has intensified scrutiny and placed it at the centre of a broader debate over foreign capital flowing into politically connected crypto ventures.<\/p>\n

According to reports, on January 16, 2025, a group linked to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan signed an agreement to acquire a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial, commonly referred to as WLFI. The transaction was finalised shortly before Trump officially assumed office.<\/p>\n

WLFI is tied to the Trump family through its founders and management structure, placing the investment at the intersection of private crypto enterprise and public office. Khanna has launched an investigation into the deal, citing concerns over its size, foreign backing, and proximity to Trump\u2019s return to power. He is seeking to understand how the investment was approved and whether appropriate safeguards were applied.<\/p>\n

As part of the inquiry, Khanna, who serves as ranking member on a select committee focused on China-related and broader national security risks, has sent a formal letter to WLFI co-founder Zach Witkoff requesting extensive documentation.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers are seeking ownership records, payment flows, internal communications, and board-level discussions related to the UAE-backed investment. The goal, Khanna said, is to establish who authorised the transaction, how funds moved through the company, and whether any internal compliance or ethics concerns were raised.<\/p>\n

Khanna has argued that transparency is essential to ensure foreign capital entering politically connected crypto businesses does not create indirect influence over US policymaking.<\/p>\n

Concerns have been amplified by the reported connection to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a senior UAE national security official. His alleged involvement has raised questions about whether foreign government-linked capital could gain leverage through private-sector crypto ventures tied to US political figures.<\/p>\n

The investigation has also widened to include US policy decisions that followed the investment. Khanna has pointed to the approval of advanced AI chip exports to the UAE shortly after the deal, noting that such exports are typically subject to strict controls due to national security considerations.<\/p>\n

In addition, he has questioned WLFI\u2019s USD1 stablecoin, which he says was used in a $2 billion Binance investment involving a UAE-linked group. The inquiry has further raised questions about whether these business relationships had any connection to the later pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao.<\/p>\n

Khanna has requested that WLFI submit all relevant documents by March 1, 2026. He has said Congress will closely review the records to assess compliance with US conflict-of-interest rules and national security protections.<\/p>\n

World Liberty Financial and the White House have described the transaction as a routine business investment and have denied that it poses any ethical or security risks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A political and crypto-linked controversy has surfaced in Washington following reports that a group connected to a UAE royal invested\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":109284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[747,3927,168,750],"class_list":["post-109283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency","tag-congress","tag-crypto","tag-donald-trump","tag-trump"],"reading_time":"3 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}