Trump family crypto venture faces Senate probe over $500M UAE investment

Senate Democrats sent a letter on June 23, 2026 calling for hearings into a reported $500 million investment by a United Arab Emirates royal entity into World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the crypto and stablecoin firm tied to the Trump family. The deal, finalized on Jan 16, 2025—four days before Donald Trump’s second inauguration—gave UAE national‑security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan a 49% stake. Of the $250 million upfront payment, about $187 million flowed to entities linked to the Trump family and roughly $31 million to co‑founder Steve Witkoff’s family firms.

The senators—Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Gary Peters, Dick Durbin and Ron Wyden—asked for sworn testimony from Trump‑administration officials and suggested a CFIUS‑style national‑security review. They highlighted concurrent policy actions that could indicate influence, including $1.4 billion in U.S. arms sales to the UAE, approval of 35,000 advanced AI chips for the Emirati firm G42, and the disbanding of the Justice Department’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team. The investment also linked to a $2 billion Binance transaction using WLFI’s USD1 stablecoin.

Democrats argue the transaction raises serious foreign‑investment and national‑security concerns and seek greater transparency and oversight of the crypto venture.