Abu Dhabi Bribes White House with Investment in Trump and Witkoff's Private Equity
TEHRAN (Defapress) - The Wall Street Journal reported that an investment firm affiliated with the Emirates has purchased nearly half of the Trump family’s cryptocurrency firm, World Liberty Financial, for $500 million, four days before Donald Trump’s second inauguration as US president. The deal, signed by the president’s son Eric Trump, gives Emirati investors a 49 percent stake in the company and has raised serious concerns about conflicts of interest between the president and his close associates.
World Liberty Financial was founded by members of the Trump family and Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East. The buyers are representatives of Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, national security adviser to the UAE, and manager of the country’s largest sovereign wealth fund.
According to company documents and sources familiar with the matter, an initial payment of $250 million was made, with $187 million going to Trump family companies and at least $31 million to Witkoff family companies. The remaining amount ($250 million) will be paid later, according to the agreement. While Trump is simultaneously pursuing his foreign policy with the country, the investment has made the Trump family a direct business partner with Emirati government officials.
The deal is considered unprecedented in modern American politics, as a senior foreign government official (Sheikh Tahnoun, known as the “Spy Sheikh”) has acquired significant ownership in a company linked to the family of a serving president.
Part of the agreement states that two senior executives from companies backed by Sheikh Tahnoun will be added to the board of directors of World Liberty Financial. The Wall Street Journal notes that the deal came after Sheikh Tahnoun pushed for the UAE to have access to advanced American AI chips. The Trump administration apparently approved the UAE’s access to hundreds of thousands of advanced AI chips per year, months after the deal. This timing has fueled accusations of “exchange of interests.”
The White House and company spokespeople have tried to dismiss these concerns. Accordingly, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly emphasized in a statement that Donald Trump is acting only in the public interest of the United States and that his assets are managed by his children. She said: “There is no conflict of interest.”
On the other hand, Witkoff’s lawyer, David Warrington, emphasized in a statement that his client has complied with government ethics rules and has not interfered in any official cases related to his financial interests. He also noted that Witkoff, despite the possibility of withdrawing from the relevant cases, has chosen to sell his shares in World Liberty Financial.
Accordingly, World Liberty Financial spokesman David Wachsman confirmed the transaction but acknowledged that neither Trump nor Witkoff had any involvement in the transaction and that they have not played any role in the company since leaving the government. He called the claim that the deal was linked to access to AI chips “100 percent false” and said that left-wing media outlets were spreading baseless rumors to discredit the company.
According to Wachsman, the decision was purely commercial and that the company, as a private business, did not seek any special rents and should not be measured by different standards. “The idea that a private American company should have a unique standard when raising capital is both ridiculous and un-American,” he added.
World Liberty Financial also announced that it had grown significantly after this investment and that its value today far exceeds the initial capital level and is among the fastest-growing fintech platforms in the world. The company recently launched the WLFI token.
It is worth noting that Trump and Witkoff are now listed as “honorary founders” of the company, but their sons continue to market the company globally. This comes as Trump has vowed to make the United States the “cryptocurrency capital of the world.”
Across the field, Deputy Attorney General Ted Blanch defended the deal, saying similar economic dealings have occurred under previous administrations. He stressed that the Trump family is transparent about its business trips and that the investments will ultimately benefit the American people and create jobs. Blanch added: “There is nothing unusual or unprecedented about this deal or the Trump Organization’s investment.”
Democratic critics and former officials, on the other hand, see the deal as a sign of corruption and a blurring of the line between public and private interests. Richard Stengel, the deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration, wrote on social media: “The level of corruption is staggering, shameless, and unprecedented. Never before has a foreign government official taken a major stake in a company owned by the president-elect of the United States.”
On the other hand, Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee declared: “In his second term, Trump has wasted no time enriching himself and his family from the presidency and increasing the costs to ordinary Americans.” Meanwhile, Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, called it “pure corruption” and called for a congressional investigation, saying: “Congress must have the courage to stop Trump’s cryptocurrency corruption.”
The company’s history dates back to September 2024, when Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, announced that World Liberty Financial would provide opportunities for those who don’t get loans from traditional banks. The initial goal was to provide decentralized finance (DeFi) and cryptocurrency services to the underprivileged. But with the influx of Emirati capital, the company has moved beyond the initial stage and is now trading under the WLFI token.
Now, the Trump family’s stake has fallen from about 75% to about 38%, with Aryam Investments becoming the largest non-founder shareholder. The event raises broader questions about the limits of ethics in American politics. While the Trump administration has emphasized transparency, critics say such partnerships with foreign governments, especially in sensitive areas such as artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, could sway foreign policy for vested interests.
Of course, Witkoff, who is also the special envoy for the Middle East and has dealings with officials like Sheikh Tahnoun, has been the subject of more accusations. Reports suggest he has claimed to have divested his stake, but some financial records still show his interests, and Democrats like Warren and Murphy have called for further ethics investigations. Trump supporters, however, have dismissed the criticism as political, saying the media and Democrats are trying to spread unfounded rumors.
Ultimately, the investment is an example of the intersection of business, politics, and diplomacy in the Trump era. While the White House calls it a routine business deal, critics see it as a threat to presidential impartiality. Given the UAE’s key role in Middle East politics and global technology, the partnership is likely to remain the subject of congressional and media scrutiny.
