Trump UAE deal grants access to 500,000 AI chips after $500M crypto investment raises concerns

UAE Royal's Alleged Stake in Trump Crypto Venture Raises Ethical Concerns - Decrypt

The deal came ahead of a U.S. policy shift granting the UAE expanded access to advanced AI chips. A UAE-backed entity tied to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed agreed to buy a 49% stake in Trump-linked crypto firm World Liberty Financial for $500 million four days before President Donald Trump's inauguration, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal on Saturday. A large share of the proceeds flowed to Trump and Witkoff family entities, the report said, with the deal preceding the Trump administration's approval of expanded UAE access to advanced U.S. AI chips that had been restricted under the Biden administration. The primary agreement was signed by Eric Trump on behalf of World Liberty Financial, the family's crypto investment and decentralized finance project. It involved an investment vehicle linked to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's national security adviser and a member of the UAE royal family. The deal made the UAE-linked entity the crypto firm's largest outside shareholder and directed roughly $187 million to Trump family entities and at least $31 million to Witkoff family-affiliated entities, the Wall Street Journal reported. The White House did not immediately return Decrypt's request for comment. It comes as Congress continues to table a broad crypto market structure bill less than a year after the GENIUS Act took effect and began reshaping federal oversight of stablecoins and digital asset markets. "This is corruption, plain and simple," Senator Elizabeth Warren, ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, told Decrypt. "The Trump Administration must reverse its decision to sell sensitive AI chips to the United Arab Emirates." Officials named by Warren, including Steve Witkoff, David Sacks, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and other Trump Administration officials, "must testify in front of Congress on mounting evidence that they sold out American national security in order to benefit the President's crypto company," Senator Warren said. This should include an inquiry about whether any officials "lined their own pockets in the process," she noted, adding that Congress "needs to grow a spine and put a stop to Trump's crypto corruption." Senator Warren's statement follows an earlier call for an investigation in May last year into the extent of Donald Trump and his family's crypto ventures in the UAE, as well as another request from December on whether Trump Administration officials "used their positions to cash in on foreign crypto deals." Other critics have warned that Trump's personal and family ties to crypto ventures risk blurring the line between policymaking and private financial interest at a moment when the administration is backing crypto regulation and expanding U.S. crypto market access. Some have also noted how the Trump family's ventures have been "frustrating" bipartisan negotiations pushing for crypto regulation. What's concerning in the financial arrangement is that it appears "like a subscription for policy access," Andrew Rossow, public affairs attorney and CEO of AR Media Consulting, told Decrypt. The "four-day window" with which the deal with the UAE was reportedly signed appears as "a massive red flag," Rossow said, because Congressional committees "typically use proximity to policy shifts as the primary justification for subpoenas." "Where a company with no revenue and no product sells 49% of itself for $500 million, there is a very strong presumption that this fails the 'arms-length transaction' test, and instead, appears to be a 'disguised gift,' which bypasses traditional campaign finance and gift limit laws," he added. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) has the power to review foreign investments in U.S. businesses that affect national security, he explained. Legal principles at play include the Foreign Emoluments Clause, which bars federal officials from accepting benefits from foreign states without congressional approval. However, courts have struggled with whether business transactions at claimed market value qualify as prohibited emoluments, an issue that surfaced repeatedly during Trump's first term, Rossow explained. While World Liberty Financial is technically a crypto firm, its links to the president and his family, as well as its use of stablecoins to facilitate deals with the UAE, "may be argued as a 'covered transaction' because it creates a financial dependency that compromises the POTUS's 'independence' on UAE-related security policy," Rossow added.

Inside The $187M Deal Between The Trump Family And The UAE's 'Spy Sheikh'

The Trump family reportedly received $187 million from an Abu Dhabi royal-backed investment firm four days before Trump's inauguration and months before the UAE secured access to 500,000 advanced AI chips annually. Sheikh Tahnoon Invests $500M In WLFI According to the Wall Street Journal, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's national security adviser, backed a $500 million investment for 49% of World Liberty Financial (CRYPTO: WLFI) through his firm Aryam Investment 1 on January 16, 2025. Eric Trump signed the agreement. Trump family entities received $187 million of the first $250 million installment. Meanwhile, $31 million went to Steve Witkoff's family entities and another $31 million went to co-founders Zak Folkman and Chase Herro. The timing raised red flags. Weeks earlier, the administration named Witkoff U.S. envoy to the Middle East, marking the first time a foreign government official bought a major stake in an incoming president's company. The AI Chip Push Sheikh Tahnoon -- called the "spy sheikh" -- oversees a $1.3 trillion empire spanning AI and surveillance operations. His top priority was securing the U.S. AI chips that Biden had blocked over fears the technology could reach China through his AI firm G42, which had close ties to sanctioned Chinese tech giant Huawei. However, Trump's election reopened negotiations. Following the World Liberty investment, Tahnoon met multiple times with Trump and Witkoff. In March, he visited the White House and pledged $1.4 trillion in U.S. investment over a decade. Two months later, the payoff arrived. The administration committed to give the UAE 500,000 of the most advanced AI chips annually. This is enough to build one of the world's biggest AI data center clusters. Notably, roughly one-fifth would flow to G42. The Board And Binance Deal The deal placed two Aryam executives -- Peng Xiao and Martin Edelman, both G42 officials -- on World Liberty's five-person board alongside Eric Trump and Zach Witkoff. What wasn't disclosed: MGX and World Liberty shared leadership through the same G42 executives on both boards. The $2 billion commitment boosted USD1's ranking and gave World Liberty a cash reserve generating about $80 million annually in Treasury interest. The Constitutional Question Legal experts said the deal could violate the Constitution's emoluments clause. This provision prevents government officials from being controlled by foreign governments. Kathleen Clark, a law professor and former ethics lawyer, called it a potential bribe and warned it signals the federal government is for sale. Moreover, Ty Cobb, who served as White House lawyer in Trump's first term, said don't do business deals with families of foreign country leaders because it damages American foreign policy credibility. The White House pushed back. David Wachsman, a World Liberty spokesman, said the investment had nothing to do with the chip deal. President Trump and Witkoff had no involvement since taking office, and the deal didn't grant access to government decision-making. Image: Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

UAE made secret $500 million investment in Trump-linked crypto firm - WSJ

US President Donald Trump attends a business forum at Qasr Al Watan during the final stop of his Gulf visit, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, May 16, 2025. A crypto company linked to US President Donald Trump received a $500 million secret investment from the UAE four days before Trump's presidential inauguration in 2025, according to a Sunday report from the Wall Street Journal. The $500 million investment granted the Emiratis 49% of World Liberty Financial, a fledgling cryptocurrency venture owned by the Trump family, with the deal being approved by Eric Trump, the US president's son, according to documents cited by the Journal. US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff's family was also implicated in the deal, with $31 million slated to flow to entities affiliated with them, according to the documents. The documents also detailed how the deal was backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, reportedly in an effort to gain access to the US's artificial intelligence chips, which Americans have been known to tightly guard from foreign actors. The Biden administration had rejected Tahnoon's attempts to gain access to the technology, citing concerns that it might be diverted to China, the report said. According to the Journal, reports of an investment in a company linked to the Trump and Witkoff families mark the first instance of a foreign official taking a major stake in a company linked to an incoming US president. Tahnoon reportedly oversees a $1.3 trillion empire spanning fish farms, AI, and surveillance, making him one of the most powerful single investors in the world. David Wachsman, a spokesman for World Liberty, assured the Journal that Trump and Witkoff had no involvement in the deal and haven't been involved in World Liberty since taking office, and that Witkoff had never played an operational role in the company. "President Trump only acts in the best interests of the American public," said White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly, adding that his assets are in a trust managed by his children. "There are no conflicts of interest." UAE's deal to access US' AI chips Two months after Trump's second inauguration, Tahnoon reportedly met with the US president and Witkoff to discuss a deal that would give the UAE access to 500,000 US chips a year to create one of the world's largest AI data center clusters. The deal was eventually closed in March, transforming the Gulf state into a major competitor in AI development. During the May presentation of the Emirati data center project, Trump, who was present, repeatedly invoked Tahnoon and told the UAE President, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, about his "wonderful brother" visit to Washington.