President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency firm, World Liberty Financial, sold a $500 million stake to a member of the Emirati royal family shortly before his inauguration last January,\u00a0The Wall Street Journal<\/u><\/a> reported on Saturday, sparking concerns over a potential conflict of interest.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to the Journal, which reviewed undisclosed corporate documents, a firm associated with Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, an Abu Dhabi royal who operates an enormous state investment fund, purchased a 49% stake in World Liberty, which is co-owned by Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and his family, just four days before the Trump administration swept into office.<\/p>\n Months later, the Trump administration agreed to supply the UAE with highly coveted American-made AI chips despite the prior administration’s concern that they may fall into the hands of the Chinese.<\/p>\n David Wachsman, a spokesperson for World Liberty Financial, acknowledged the existence of the deal in a statement to ABC News, but insisted that “neither President Trump nor Steve Witkoff had any involvement whatsoever in this transaction” and that “any claim that this deal had anything to do with the Administration’s actions on chips is 100% false.”<\/p>\n A photograph shows the emblem of the United Arab Emirates on the fence of the Qasr al-Watan presidential palace in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 23, 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Giuseppe Cacace\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “We made the deal in question because we strongly believe that it was what was best for our company as we continue to grow. 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,” the statement continued.<\/p>\n David Warrington, the White House counsel, told ABC News in a statement that “the President has no involvement in business deals that would implicate his constitutional responsibilities,” and that “President Trump performs his constitutional duties in an ethically sound manner and to suggest so otherwise is either ill-informed or malicious.”<\/p>\n But the Journal’s report adds yet another wrinkle to the U.S. decision to sell highly coveted advanced chips to the Emiratis.<\/p>\n As ABC News previously reported<\/a>, shortly before the chips deal was announced, a UAE-backed investment firm called MGX announced last May that it would use a digital token minted by World Liberty Financial to finance a $2 billion investment in a crypto exchange Binance, a major boon for the firm.<\/p>\n Shiekh Tahnoon, who is the brother of the UAE’s president, also serves<\/u><\/a> as MGX’s chairman.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Biden administration declined to provide the UAE with the chips, which power some of the most sophisticated weapons on the planet, for fear they might be redirected into China.\u00a0<\/p>\n Peter Wildeford, the head of policy at the AI Policy Network, a nonpartisan advocacy group, warned that could close the U.S.’s advantage in the AI race and compromise American security.\u00a0<\/p>\n “If China gets their hands on these chips at scale, they would be able to launch cyberattacks against the U.S., they could build autonomous weapons that could find and sink our Navy ships — they could close the military technology gap that’s currently keeping us safe,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"AI](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/1b8be64a-3331-4dfb-80cc-60a75d257352\/UAE-crest-DB-260202_1770021541363_hpMain.jpg?w=375 "\\"AI")
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![\"Chris](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/7a2facda-88a9-485f-98e8-84eb67475427\/World-Liberty-Financial-DB-260202_1770021560834_hpEmbed_3x2.jpg?w=375 "\\"Chris")
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