US President Donald Trump has denied any knowledge of a reported multimillion-dollar investment by an Abu Dhabi royal family member into World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a cryptocurrency platform closely linked to his family.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, Trump dismissed questions about the deal, which has drawn political criticism and heightened scrutiny over his family’s involvement in crypto ventures.
“I don’t know about it,” Trump said when asked about the reported transaction. “My sons are handling that — my family is handling it. I guess they get investments from different people.”
The comments followed a report by The Wall Street Journal that detailed a $500 million investment into WLFI shortly before Trump’s inauguration.
Reported Abu Dhabi investment raises questions
According to the Wall Street Journal, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a senior member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, purchased a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial for $500 million just four days before Trump was sworn into office.
The report cited WLFI documents and people familiar with the matter.
The first installment of the deal, reportedly $250 million, was made through Aryam Investment 1, a company backed by Sheikh Tahnoon.
Of that amount, $187 million was directed to Trump-family entities, while another $31 million was routed to an entity linked to two WLFI founders, Zak Folkman and Chase Herro.
If accurate, the agreement would make Aryam WLFI’s largest shareholder.
The structure has raised concerns about potential foreign influence in a US crypto company whose founders include Trump and his sons, Donald Trump Jr., Eric, and Barron.
Sheikh Tahnoon maintains diplomatic ties with Washington and serves as chairman of Group 42, an Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence conglomerate.
In December, Group 42 received approval from the US Department of Commerce to purchase advanced chips from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.
WLFI lists Trump and real estate developer Steve Witkoff as co-founders emeritus, and members of the Trump and Witkoff families operate the company.
Trump is one of nine WLFI founders alongside his sons Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Barron Trump.
Political scrutiny and regulatory response
The reported stake has added to ongoing political scrutiny surrounding Trump-linked crypto businesses.
In January, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren urged the US banking regulator to delay consideration of WLFI’s application for a bank charter until Trump divested his interest in the platform.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency later rejected Warren’s request, saying political or personal financial ties would not affect the review process and that WLFI’s application would face the same “rigorous review” as any other.
A WLFI spokesperson, David Wachsman, defended the company’s fundraising practices in comments to Bloomberg, saying: “The idea that, when raising capital, a privately held American company should be held to some unique standard that no other similar company would be held is both ridiculous and un-American.”
Trump distances himself from deal
During Monday’s remarks, Trump reiterated that he was not involved in the alleged transaction and said his attention was focused on broader geopolitical issues.
“Well, I don’t know about it,” he said again. “My sons are handling that. My family is handling it, and I guess they get investments from different people, but I’m not.”
Trump added that he was preoccupied with matters including Iran, Russia, and Ukraine, before noting: “I don’t know exactly other than, you know, I’m a big crypto person.”
At the time of writing, the WLFI token was trading at around $0.13, up 0.25% over the past 24 hours and about 26% lower year-to-date.
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