Two U.S. senators have asked Treasury Secretary **Scott Bessent** to determine whether a formal national security review is needed for the UAE's $500 million investment in the Trump family's cryptocurrency business.
With this request, a new front has been added to the congressional investigation into World Liberty Financial (WLFI), linked to a senior UAE royal with interests in American AI technology.
Senators Elizabeth Warren (Democrat-Massachusetts) and Andy Kim (Democrat-New Jersey), both members of the Senate Banking Committee, sent this letter on Friday, according to a report by Reuters.
What happened?
Warren and Kim asked Vescent, who chairs the U.S. Foreign Investment Committee (CFIUS), to determine whether this transaction is subject to CFIUS review, and if so, to conduct a "comprehensive and unbiased investigation." The deadline was set for March 5.
This transaction was first reported by the Wall Street Journal on February 1, and it involves Abu Dhabi investment firm Aryam Investment acquiring a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial.
The contract was signed on January 16, 2025, just four days before **Donald Trump's** second inauguration. It is noted in documents reviewed by the journal that **Eric Trump** signed on behalf of the family.
Aryam is a company backed by **Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan**, the UAE National Security Advisor and brother of the president, who is also the chairman of AI company G42. According to the agreement, two G42 executives took two seats on the five-member board of World Liberty Financial.
Of the prepaid funds, $187 million went to entities associated with the Trump family, and at least $31 million was paid to entities linked to Steve Witkoff, Trump's Middle East envoy and co-founder of World Liberty.
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Why it matters
The senators' concerns are timely. A few months after this stake acquisition, the Trump administration approved a contract to sell approximately 500,000 advanced AI chips to the UAE each year, of which about one-fifth was allocated to G42.
Under the Biden administration, U.S. intelligence agencies had warned about G42's past connections with Chinese technology companies, which had led to restrictions on G42's access to chips.
Warren and Kim wrote that CFIUS has a "clear mission" to address risks that arise when foreign investments can provide access to critical technologies or sensitive personal information of U.S. citizens. World Liberty Financial collects user data and operates a dollar-pegged stablecoin USD1 backed by U.S. Treasury bonds.
A spokesperson for World Liberty Financial told CNN that **President Trump** and Witkoff were not involved in this transaction and that there is no connection between this deal and AI chip policy.
This letter comes amid a separate House investigation that began on February 5, with the House demanding ownership structure documents and funding flow records from World Liberty Financial. It operates under the authority of Vescent, but it remains uncertain whether CFIUS, which reports to the president with a direct financial interest in the outcome, will actually take action.
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