UAE-Backed Vehicle Buys 49% of Trump-Linked World Liberty in Deal That Raises Governance and Security Questions

A January 2025 transaction placed nearly half of World Liberty Financial into the hands of an Abu Dhabi-backed investment vehicle in a deal that transferred substantial cash to entities controlled by the Trump family and others close to the firm. The buyer, managed in part by executives tied to G42, agreed to pay $500 million for a 49% stake, with roughly $187 million delivered immediately to Trump-linked accounts and further payments routed to startup co-founders and affiliates. This sale occurred shortly before a string of high-level engagements between the UAE and U.S. officials led to a framework expanding Emirati access to advanced AI chips, and weeks after the purchaser’s affiliates used World Liberty’s stablecoin to move a $2 billion investment into Binance. The timing and the involvement of senior Abu Dhabi figures who have been pressing for broader technology access make the deal politically sensitive, since key stakeholders in the buyer also assumed board positions at the crypto firm. U.S. lawmakers have previously asked federal authorities to examine World Liberty’s token distributions amid allegations that tokens were acquired by blockchain addresses tied to sanctioned actors, and the new ownership structure intensifies those oversight questions because major token revenues flow to entities controlled by the president’s family. White House and company spokespeople have denied any improper influence, asserting the president was not party to deal-making and that policy decisions were unaffected. Still, the combination of large cross-border capital flows, new board alignments, and a sudden shift in the firm’s ownership stake presents a commercial arrangement that intersects with geopolitically sensitive technology negotiations. Financially, the deal immediately monetized a large portion of the Trump family's stake and injected liquidity that could recalibrate governance incentives at World Liberty. Politically and legally, it creates fertile ground for congressional inquiries and regulatory review, especially given prior concerns about sanctioned actors interacting with the firm’s token markets. For the UAE side, gaining a major position in a U.S.-linked crypto startup advances broader ambitions to deepen influence in cutting-edge tech and financial networks, while offering a mechanism to deploy capital quickly through digital-asset rails. The most probable near-term outcomes are heightened oversight from U.S. authorities, targeted questions about the firm’s token custody and sales, and increased political scrutiny of any policy decisions coinciding with the ownership change. In the longer run, the episode underscores how cross-border crypto investments can entangle commercial deals with national security and governance risks, accelerating debates about transparency, beneficial ownership and the intersection of private capital with foreign policy.