Trump sold ‘spy sheikh’ a $US500 million stake in family empire
James Titcomb
Donald Trump sold a $500 million ($717 million) stake in his crypto empire to an Abu Dhabi royal known as the “spy sheikh” just days before the US presidential inauguration.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, brother of United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, reportedly reached a secret agreement to purchase a 49 percent stake in World Liberty Financial last year.
The first installment of the agreement signed by Eric Trump, the son of the US president, was $250 million, of which $187 million was transferred to Trump family organizations.
At least $31 million was directed to the family of Steve Witkoff, co-founder of World Liberty and Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East. Another $31 million was sent to an organization linked to fellow co-founders Zak Folkman and Chase Herro. Wall StreetJournal reported.
While Trump has sought to broker business deals while in office and even accepted gifts from foreign governments, including a $400 million jetliner from Qatar, the deal is the only known example of a foreign government official taking a major stake in a U.S. president’s company.
Sheikh Tahnoon is the deputy governor of the UAE and runs Abu Dhabi’s US$1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund, making him one of the most powerful individual investors in the world. He is also known as the “spy sheikh” for his role as national security advisor.
The Abu Dhabi royal, who has connections to Silicon Valley elites and works with Mark Zuckerberg, has long sought access to US-made artificial intelligence chips. But Joe Biden’s administration has largely resisted the effort over concerns that the technology could fall into Chinese hands.
But just a few months into Trump’s second term, the US government has agreed to give the Gulf state access to 500,000 of the most advanced artificial intelligence chips a year. About one-fifth of these chips will be offered to Sheikh Tahnoon’s own artificial intelligence firm, G42.
Meanwhile, MGX, a fund headed by Sheikh Tahnoon, now owns a 15 percent stake in US TikTok following the takeover of the social media company’s American operations by a consortium of bidders backed by Trump.
The secret deal will raise new questions about the Trump family’s business dealings through World Liberty Financial.
The company, a decentralized finance platform that offers its own stablecoin, has come under intense scrutiny over conflict of interest concerns.
The SEC fraud investigation into Chinese crypto king Justin Sun was dropped last year after he invested tens of millions of dollars in World Liberty.
Last year, another Tahnoon-linked investment firm used World Liberty’s stablecoin to fund a $2 billion investment in Binance. Cryptocurrency exchange founder Changpeng Zhao, who was imprisoned for violating money laundering laws, was later pardoned by Mr Trump.
Tahnoon’s share sale to Aryam Investment makes the Abu Dhabi company World Liberty’s largest shareholder. Eric Trump and Steve Witkoff’s son Zach Witkoff, as well as two Aryam executives, also sat on World Liberty’s board of directors.
‘Any claim that this deal has anything to do with the administration’s actions on chips is 100 percent false.’
Freedom of the World spokesman David Wachsman
It is unclear how the second half of the $500 million investment, which must be paid by July, is distributed.
The agreement underscores the UAE’s increasing involvement in Western politics. RedBird IMI, which is mostly backed by Abu Dhabi, has been blocked from buying The Telegraph after a backlash over press freedom prompted the Government to introduce new laws banning foreign state ownership of British newspapers.
Sheikh Tahnoon is also backing Paramount’s $108 billion hostile takeover bid for Hollywood studio giant Warner Bros. Harry Potter.
World Liberty spokesman David Wachsman said: Telegram Neither Trump nor Witkoff were involved in the agreement and have not been involved with World Liberty since taking office.
He added: “Any claims that this deal is related to the administration’s actions regarding chips are 100 percent false. The left-wing media dishonestly makes unfounded insinuations in an attempt to deceive the public and smear our company.”
“As a private business, we operate by the same rules and regulations as other companies in our field, we do not seek or receive any special treatment and we reject suggestions to the contrary that are far from the truth.”
A Trump Organization spokesman said the company “takes its ethical obligations extremely seriously and is deeply committed to preventing conflicts of interest” and complies with all applicable laws.
A person close to Sheikh Tahnoon told the newspaper that the sheikh and his team studied the deal for several months before making the investment. They added: “At no time during or after due diligence was the investment discussed with President Trump.”
Telegraph, London
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