Secret UAE Investment in Trump-Linked Crypto Venture Before Inauguration Revealed

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An investment vehicle backed by Emirati Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan secretly acquired a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial for $500 million just days before President Donald Trump’s inauguration, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation published Saturday.

The deal, signed by Eric Trump on behalf of the project four days before the January 2025 inauguration, was never publicly disclosed. The buyer was Aryam Investment 1, an Abu Dhabi entity backed by Tahnoon, the UAE’s national security adviser and brother to UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, the Journal reported.

Under the agreement, half of the $500 million was paid upfront, with $187 million flowing to Trump family-controlled entities and at least $31 million going to entities affiliated with the family of Steve Witkoff, the real estate magnate who co-founded World Liberty and was later named US Special Envoy to the Middle East. Witkoff’s son Zach is the current CEO of the project.

G42 executives helped manage Aryam Investment 1 and took board seats at World Liberty as part of the transaction, making Tahnoon’s vehicle the crypto venture’s largest outside shareholder, the Journal reported.