Trump's Crypto Venture Entangled with UAE as Senate Seeks Answers

US Senators have called for immediate hearings into a $500 million investment by UAE officials in President Donald Trump's family crypto venture, World Liberty Financial. In a letter dated June 23, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Gary Peters, Richard Durbin, and Ron Wyden requested that multiple Senate committees hold hearings on the deal.

The agreement was made just four days before Trump's inauguration in 2025, with UAE officials signing a deal to purchase a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial for half a billion dollars. The investment was reportedly backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's National Security Advisor.

The Senators are concerned that this marks an unprecedented level of foreign influence in American politics, and have pointed out that the Trump Administration took policy decisions that benefited the UAE after the deal was made. In May 2025, the administration approved a $1.4 billion arms sale to the country, despite congressional concerns about weapons flowing to armed groups in Sudan.

The Senators also highlighted other deals that favored the UAE, including the creation of a 'Known Investor Pilot' program to streamline investment approvals through CFIUS, and the rescinding of Biden-era chip export restrictions. This allowed the UAE to receive up to triple or quadruple the number of advanced chips it previously could have imported.