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    "date": "2026-02-02T09:22:43",
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        "rendered": "UAE Royal\u2019s Alleged Stake in Trump Crypto Venture Raises Ethical Concerns"
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        "rendered": "<div>\n<div>\n<h4 color=\"#333\">In brief<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>A UAE-linked entity agreed to buy a 49% stake in Trump-associated crypto firm World Liberty Financial just before Trump\u2019s inauguration.<\/li>\n<li>A large share of the proceeds allegedly flowed to Trump and Witkoff family entities, according to the Wall Street Journal.<\/li>\n<li>The deal came ahead of a U.S. policy shift granting the UAE expanded access to advanced AI chips.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>A UAE-backed entity tied to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed agreed to buy a 49% stake in Trump-linked crypto firm World Liberty Financial for $500 million four days before President Donald Trump\u2019s inauguration, according to a report from the <i>Wall Street Journal<\/i> on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>A large share of the proceeds flowed to Trump and Witkoff family entities, the report said, with the deal preceding the Trump administration&#8217;s approval of expanded UAE access to advanced U.S. AI chips that had been restricted under the Biden administration.<\/p>\n<p>The primary agreement was signed by Eric Trump on behalf of World Liberty Financial, the family\u2019s crypto investment and decentralized finance project.<\/p>\n<p>It involved an investment vehicle linked to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE\u2019s national security adviser and a member of the UAE royal family.<\/p>\n<p>The deal made the UAE-linked entity the crypto firm\u2019s largest outside shareholder and directed roughly $187 million to Trump family entities and at least $31 million to Witkoff family-affiliated entities, the <i>Wall Street Journal<\/i> reported.<\/p>\n<p><span>The White House did not immediately return <\/span><i><span>Decrypt\u2019s<\/span><\/i><span> request for comment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It comes as Congress continues to table a broad crypto market structure bill less than a year after the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/352552\/year-stablecoins-2025-record-growth-genius-act-floodgates\" target=\"_blank\"><span>GENIUS Act<\/span><\/a><span> took effect and began reshaping federal oversight of stablecoins and digital asset markets.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>&#8220;This is corruption, plain and simple,\u201d Senator Elizabeth Warren, ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, told <\/span><i><span>Decrypt<\/span><\/i><span>. \u201cThe Trump Administration must reverse its decision to sell sensitive AI chips to the United Arab Emirates.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Officials named by Warren, including Steve Witkoff, David Sacks, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and other Trump Administration officials, \u201cmust testify in front of Congress on mounting evidence that they sold out American national security in order to benefit the President\u2019s crypto company,\u201d Senator Warren said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This should include an inquiry about whether any officials \u201clined their own pockets in the process,\u201d she noted, adding that Congress \u201cneeds to grow a spine and put a stop to Trump\u2019s crypto corruption.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Senator Warren\u2019s statement follows an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/317819\/senator-warren-calls-2b-trump-uae-crypto-deal-shady-urges-against-senate-crypto-legislation\" target=\"_blank\"><span>earlier call<\/span><\/a><span> for an investigation in May last year into the extent of Donald Trump and his family\u2019s crypto ventures in the UAE, as well as another <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.banking.senate.gov\/newsroom\/minority\/following-ig-response-warren-and-slotkin-press-for-full-investigation-into-extent-of-donald-trump-trump-family-and-senior-trump-administration-officials-cashing-in-on-foreign-crypto-deals\" target=\"_blank\"><span>request<\/span><\/a><span> from December on whether Trump Administration officials \u201cused their positions to cash in on foreign crypto deals.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 color=\"#333\"><b>A \u2018disguised gift\u2019?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span>Other critics have <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/312474\/trump-crypto-dealings-regulation-more-complicated-house\" target=\"_blank\"><span>warned<\/span><\/a><span> that Trump\u2019s personal and family ties to crypto ventures risk blurring the line between policymaking and private financial <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/304687\/public-citizen-complaint-trumps-meme-coin\" target=\"_blank\"><span>interest<\/span><\/a><span> at a moment when the administration is backing crypto regulation and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/322525\/president-trumps-sons-victory-lap-fathers-behalf-at-btc-2025\" target=\"_blank\"><span>expanding<\/span><\/a><span> U.S. crypto market access.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Some have also noted how the Trump family\u2019s ventures have been \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/352822\/charles-hoskinson-trump-crypto-ventures-frustrating-others-wont-talk\" target=\"_blank\"><span>frustrating<\/span><\/a><span>\u201d bipartisan negotiations pushing for crypto regulation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>What\u2019s concerning in the financial arrangement is that it appears \u201clike a subscription for policy access,\u201d Andrew Rossow, public affairs attorney and CEO of AR Media Consulting, told <\/span><i><span>Decrypt<\/span><\/i><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The &#8220;four-day window&#8221; with which the deal with the UAE was reportedly signed appears as \u201ca massive red flag,\u201d Rossow said, because Congressional committees \u201ctypically use proximity to policy shifts as the primary justification for subpoenas.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWhere a company with no revenue and no product sells 49% of itself for $500 million, there is a very strong presumption that this fails the \u2018arms-length transaction\u2019 test, and instead, appears to be a \u2018disguised gift,\u2019 which bypasses traditional campaign finance and gift limit laws,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) has the power to review foreign investments in U.S. businesses that affect national security, he explained.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Legal principles at play include the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/constitution.congress.gov\/browse\/article-1\/section-9\/clause-8\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span>Foreign Emoluments Clause<\/span><\/a><span>, which bars federal officials from accepting benefits from foreign states without congressional approval. However, courts have struggled with whether business transactions at claimed market value qualify as prohibited emoluments, an issue that surfaced repeatedly during Trump\u2019s first term, Rossow explained.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>While World Liberty Financial is technically a crypto firm, its links to the president and his family, as well as its use of stablecoins to facilitate deals with the UAE, \u201cmay be argued as a \u2018covered transaction\u2019 because it creates a financial dependency that compromises the POTUS&#8217;s \u2018independence\u2019 on UAE-related security policy,\u201d Rossow added.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<h3>Daily Debrief Newsletter<\/h3>\n<p>Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>",
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        "rendered": "<p>In brief A UAE-linked entity agreed to buy a 49% stake in Trump-associated crypto firm World Liberty Financial just before [&hellip;]<\/p>",
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