Shortly before his inauguration, Trump’s family concluded a million-dollar deal with an investor from the Emirates. Image: keystone
Shortly before Donald Trump took office, his family sold almost half of a new crypto company to a powerful Abu Dhabi investor. The deal came at a time of sensitive political decisions by the new US administration.
Feb 1, 2026, 4:48 p.mFeb 1, 2026, 5:15 p.m
Simon Cleven / t-online
Four days before Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Trump family sold almost half of their newly founded crypto company to a foreign investor. This is reported by the Wall Street Journal, citing company documents and people familiar with the process. Accordingly, an investment company backed by the leadership of the United Arab Emirates acquired 49 percent of the cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial for around $500 million.
According to the report, the contract was signed by Eric Trump. About half of the sum was paid immediately. Around $187 million went directly to Trump family companies. Further payments were made to companies linked to the family of Steve Witkoff, who had been appointed US special envoy to the Middle East a few weeks earlier, as well as to other co-founders of the company.
Investor with a direct line to the government
According to the Wall Street Journal, the person behind the deal is Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi ruling family, national security advisor to the Emirates and one of the most influential investors in the region. For years he has been driving forward his country’s efforts to gain access to sophisticated US chips for artificial intelligence. Under the previous US administration, such applications were largely blocked due to concerns about security risks.
Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan.Image: keystone
Tahnoun controls a wide-ranging economic network through state and state-related investment vehicles, ranging from energy and logistics to artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies. His technology group G42 in particular was under observation in the USA for a long time because security authorities criticized previous close ties to Chinese companies such as Huawei. G42 declared at the end of 2023 that it had ended these relations. However, reservations in Washington remained.
After Trump’s election victory, contacts between Tahnoun and the new US leadership intensified. The sheikh met several times with Trump, Witkoff and other high-ranking government officials, including at the White House. A little later, the US government promised the Emirates extensive access to AI technology from the USA. The temporal connection between the deal and political commitments was not yet publicly known.
The “Wall Street Journal” describes the process as unprecedented, as it is the first time that a foreign government representative has acquired a significant stake in his company shortly before a US president takes office. Legal experts see this as possible violations of the constitutional ban on granting foreign advantages.
Trump has been criticized for conflicts of interest for years
Trump has been criticized for years because of possible conflicts of interest through his private businesses. During his first term in office, Democrats accused him of violating the Emoluments Clause because foreign countries were doing business in his hotels and real estate. The clause prohibits federal officials from accepting gifts from foreign countries without the approval of Congress.
Trump rejected the allegations, the Justice Department stood behind him, and the Supreme Court did not address the substance of the matter. For his second term in office, the Trump Organization announced that it would not enter into any new contracts with foreign governments – but did not explicitly rule out business with private foreign investors.
The White House rejected the allegations. President Trump has no influence on the business; his assets are managed by his children, a spokeswoman said. World Liberty officials emphasized that the deal did not open up access to political decision-making processes and had no influence on U.S. government policy.
Sources used:
- wsj.com: “‘Spy Sheikh’ Bought Secret Stake in Trump Company” (English)
You might also be interested in:
Epstein files from January 30, 2026
WEF: Trump criticizes Karin Keller-Sutter
Video: watson/Elena Maria Müller