US President Donald Trump has denied knowledge of a reported multimillion-dollar deal between his family and an Abu Dhabi royal for a significant stake in the World Liberty Financial crypto platform.
“I don’t know about it,” Trump told reporters on Monday when asked about his involvement in the deal.
“My sons are handling that — my family is handling it,” Trump added. “I guess they get investments from different people.”
JUST IN: 🇺🇸🇦🇪 President Trump says he did not know Abu Dhabi invested $500 million in his World Liberty crypto project.
“I don’t know about it. My sons are handling that, I guess they get investments from people.” pic.twitter.com/AOBosetnpE
— Bitcoin Black (@Bitcoinblacck) February 2, 2026
The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family in the United Arab Emirates, purchased a 49% stake in WLFI for $500 million four days before Trump was inaugurated.
The WSJ report was based on WLFI documents and comments from people familiar with the matter.
The first installment from a Tahnoon-backed company, Aryam Investment 1, was reported to be $250 million, of which $187 million was directed to Trump-family entities.
Another $31 million was directed to an entity tied to two of WLF’s founders, Zak Folkman and Chase Herro.
The agreement would make Aryam WLFI’s largest shareholder, raising concerns over foreign influence in a US crypto company closely tied to the president, who is one of nine WLFI founders alongside his sons Donald Trump Jr., Eric, and Barron.
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Sheikh Tahnoon maintains diplomatic relations with the US and is the chairman of Group 42, an Abu Dhabi-based AI conglomerate that secured approval from the US Department of Commerce to purchase advanced chips from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices in December.
Senator criticizes Trump’s crypto ties
The report of Sheikh Tahnoon’s stake in WLFI could add to regulatory and media scrutiny over Trump’s ties to crypto.
In January, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren urged the country’s banking regulator to hold off on considering World Liberty Financial’s bid for a bank charter until Trump divests his interest in the crypto platform.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency later knocked back Warren’s bid, stating that no political or personal financial ties would impact the procedural review and that it would be subject to the same “rigorous review” as any application.
WLFI spokesman David Wachsman echoed a similar sentiment to Bloomberg:
“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.”
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