UAE-Backed Investors Acquire 49% of World Liberty Financial for $500M

A UAE-backed consortium acquired 49% of World Liberty Financial for $500 million. Deal documents show the transaction routed approximately $187 million to Trump family accounts and about $31 million to entities linked to Steve Witkoff, and Eric Trump signed the agreement four days before the presidential inauguration. After closing, two officials affiliated with the UAE National Security Force joined the company's board and investors were granted board seats and information rights. Two months after the inauguration Sheikh Tahnoon met with senior U.S. figures and family business contacts to discuss access to 500,000 U.S.-made AI accelerator chips per year for a planned UAE buildout while U.S. export policy on advanced AI accelerators was being negotiated. The White House and World Liberty Financial stated the investment was a private commercial matter and that existing ethics controls and trust structures limit conflicts, and opponents raised concerns about the transaction's secrecy and timing and requested oversight. Senate Democrats called for hearings and document production, and investigators and lawmakers requested term sheets, wiring instructions, correspondence involving government officials, ownership records, governance terms, and communications linking the investment to policy outcomes. Legal scholars and national security officials highlighted enforcement challenges for large-scale semiconductor shipments, including monitoring end use, cloud or third-party access, and diversion risks. Advisors recommended enhanced due diligence on beneficial owners, documented governance firewalls and non-interference covenants, limits on board access for state-linked representatives, export control compliance planning, and transparent disclosures for partners and regulators. 

Source: https://web3businessnews.com/policy/uae-crypto-stake-trump-venture/

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