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UAE Intelligence Chief Purchased 49% Stake in Trump Family Crypto Venture: Wall Street Journal

President Trump received $500M from the UAE's "spy sheikh" for a slice of his crypto empire
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Feb 2, 2026 • 1 min read

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Trump family secretly inked a deal with with the Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi and National Security Advisor of UAE, offloading a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial (WLFI) to "spy sheikh" Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan in exchange for half a billion dollars just four days prior to Donald Trump’s inauguration.

What's the Scoop?

  • Personal Enrichment: Four days before the inauguration of President Donald Trump, The Wall Street Journal alleges that World Liberty Financial sold a 49% stake to an investment vehicle associated with Emirati Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan for $500M. The buyer paid Trump family entities $187M upfront, and $31M flowed to entities associated with Steve Witkoff (U.S. special envoy to the Middle East).
  • Conflict of Interest: Tahnoon's government sought access to American-manufactured AI chips, and the Trump administration obliged. Eleven months after the WLFI investment, Trump's Commerce Department approved the sale of advanced GPUs to the UAE (directly benefiting Tahnoon’s own artificial intelligence company). The White House has denied any claims of impropriety.

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