Two US senators, Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Andy Kim (D-N.J.), have formally requested the Treasury Department to investigate a reported $500 million foreign investment in World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a cryptocurrency venture with ties to the Trump family. In a letter dated Friday to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the lawmakers raised national security concerns regarding the deal and potential foreign access to sensitive American financial data.
The senators are asking the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which Bessent chairs, to determine if it should investigate a transaction in which a UAE-backed investment vehicle agreed to purchase a 49% stake in WLFI for approximately $500 million. They noted the deal reportedly occurred just days before Donald Trump's presidential inauguration, making the foreign fund the firm's largest shareholder and only publicly known outside investor.
The investment is reportedly backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's national security adviser. According to the senators' letter, the agreement directed about $187 million to entities linked to the Trump family and granted two board seats to executives connected to G42, a technology company previously scrutinized by US intelligence agencies over concerns about ties to China.
Warren and Kim argued the deal's structure could allow a foreign government to gain influence over a US company handling sensitive information. They highlighted that WLFI's privacy disclosures indicate it collects data including wallet addresses, IP addresses, device identifiers, approximate location data, and certain identity records.
The lawmakers have requested that CFIUS confirm whether it was notified of the transaction and, if necessary, conduct a "comprehensive, thorough, and unbiased investigation." They have asked for answers by March 5. This follows previous actions by Senators Warren and Jack Reed last November, who called on authorities to investigate alleged links between WLFI's token sales and sanctioned foreign actors, including North Korea's Lazarus Group and Russian- and Iranian-linked entities.
In response to the controversy, former President Donald Trump stated earlier this month that he was unaware of the reported investment and that his family was handling the matter. "My sons are handling that — my family is handling it," Trump told reporters. "I guess they get investments from different people."
