UAE $500M Trump Crypto Deal Sparks U.S. Policy Probe

The investigation centers on a transaction revealed by The Wall Street Journal, in which Aryam Investment 1, controlled by UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, purchased a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial for $500 million. This deal was executed just four days before Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration. According to the report, the investment directed approximately $187 million to Trump family entities and $31 million to entities affiliated with the family of Steve Witkoff, a co-founder emeritus of the firm.

Within months of this transaction, the Trump administration reversed Biden-era export restrictions, approving licenses that granted the UAE access to tens of thousands of advanced artificial intelligence chips. These chips had previously been blocked over U.S. national security concerns that the technology could be diverted to China. In his letter to World Liberty Financial CEO Zach Witkoff, Representative Khanna directly linked the two events, writing that the investment “may have contributed to changes to U.S. policy intended to prevent the diversion of advanced artificial intelligence chips to China from the UAE.”

Khanna’s probe raises significant questions about the subordination of national security policy to personal financial interests. “Regardless of policy views,” Khanna wrote, “seemingly subordinating robust policy discussions to the President’s personal financial interests is unacceptable.” The investigation underscores the complex web of relationships at play: Steve Witkoff, whose son Zach is CEO of World Liberty Financial, concurrently serves as President Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East. Both Trump and Steve Witkoff are listed as co-founders emeritus on the firm’s website, though World Liberty Financial asserts Trump holds no formal director, officer, or employee role.

The letter highlights the profile of the UAE investor, Sheikh Tahnoon, who oversees major technology vehicles like G42. G42 has long sought access to advanced U.S. semiconductors for AI development but has faced sustained U.S. scrutiny over alleged ties to China. Khanna’s letter suggests that when traditional lobbying failed to lift restrictions, “the UAE appeared to pair diplomacy with large investments tied to the incoming president’s business network.” This connection forms the core of the national security concern—that a foreign power may have used financial leverage within the President’s circle to alter sensitive technology export policy.

Representative Khanna’s investigation extends beyond the initial $500 million deal. His letter points to a separate $2 billion investment by another Tahnoon-linked entity, MGX, into the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. That transaction used World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin for settlement, a move Khanna said likely boosted revenues for the Trump-linked firm. The congressman has also urged federal prosecutors to scrutinize the deal, noting to Delaware U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wallace that at least one entity involved was registered in Delaware.

To untangle these relationships, Khanna has demanded 16 categories of records from World Liberty Financial by March 1. The demands are comprehensive, including the full agreements with Aryam Investment 1, detailed payment flows, due diligence conducted on UAE-linked entities, internal conflict-of-interest safeguards, and any communications related to U.S. export controls or the later pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao. “By all accounts,” Khanna concluded, “this is a scandal that would receive far more scrutiny under different political circumstances.” The probe now seeks to determine if financial interests within the President’s orbit compromised a critical policy designed to maintain U.S. technological advantage over China.