Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA-17) launched an investigation Thursday into a $500 million investment by a United Arab Emirates royal family member in World Liberty Financial, the Trump family’s crypto company, raising questions about whether the deal influenced U.S. policy on advanced AI chip exports to the UAE.
“This is about public trust and transparency,” Khanna tweeted Thursday, while announcing the probe.
The investigation was triggered by a Wall Street Journal report last week, which revealed that Aryam Investment 1, controlled by UAE national security advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, purchased a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial for $500 million, just four days before Trump’s inauguration.
The deal reportedly directed approximately $187 million to Trump family entities and $31 million to entities affiliated with Steve Witkoff’s family.
Within months, the Trump administration reversed Biden-era restrictions and approved export licenses allowing the UAE access to tens of thousands of advanced AI chips previously blocked over concerns the technology could be diverted to China.
In a letter to World Liberty Financial CEO Zach Witkoff, Khanna wrote that the transaction “may have contributed to changes to U.S. policy intended to prevent the diversion of advanced artificial intelligence chips to China from the UAE, potentially undermining the U.S. ability to outcompete the CCP and raising national security concerns.”
He added that regardless of policy views, “seemingly subordinating robust policy discussions to the President’s personal financial interests is unacceptable.”
The letter demands 16 categories of records by March 1, including full agreements with Aryam Investment 1, payment flows, due diligence on UAE-linked entities, internal conflict-of-interest safeguards, and any communications related to export controls or the later pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao.
Witkoff, whose son Zach serves as World Liberty’s CEO, concurrently holds the position of President Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East. Both Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump are listed as co-founders emeritus of World Liberty Financial on the firm’s website. World Liberty Financial asserts that Trump and his family members do not hold any role as “director, officer or employee” of the firm.
Decrypt has reached out to the White House and WLFI for comment.
World Liberty Financial under scrutiny
Khanna’s letter states that Sheikh Tahnoon, also known as the “Spy Sheikh,” oversees major investment and technology vehicles, including G42 and MGX.
G42 has long sought access to advanced U.S. semiconductors for AI development but has faced sustained U.S. scrutiny over alleged ties to China, he said.
When lobbying did not resolve those restrictions, the UAE appeared to pair diplomacy with large investments tied to the incoming president’s business network, the congressman noted.
The letter also points to a separate MGX investment of $2 billion into Binance that used World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin for settlement, a move Khanna said likely boosted revenues tied to the firm.
Khanna urged federal prosecutors to scrutinize the reported $500 million World Liberty Financial deal in a letter to Delaware U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wallace, noting that news reports indicate at least one entity involved in Aryam Investment 1’s 49% stake purchase was registered in Delaware.
Khanna wrote that, “By all accounts, this is a scandal that would receive far more scrutiny under different political circumstances.”
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