US Lawmakers Slam $500M WLFI-UAE Deal, Call For Anti-Corruption Reform

US Lawmakers have called for better anti-corruption measures over the $500 million deal between an Abu Dhabi-backed entity and World Liberty Financial Invest (WLFI), the main crypto venture of the Trump family.

On Monday, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy criticized the recently unveiled deal involving United Arab Emirates (UAE) investors and a US President Trump-linked crypto company, World Liberty Financial.

The concern follows a Wall Street Journal report alleging that Aryam Investment, a UAE-backed entity linked to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, an Abu Dhabi royal tied to the emirate’s state investment machinery, purchased 49% stake of WLFI for $500 million just days before Trump’s inauguration.

Months after the WLFI-UAE deal, the Trump administration approved expanded access for the UAE to advanced US-made AI chips despite restrictions from the Biden administration over concerns about potential diversion to China.

“This is a case where they knew it was so outrageous, it was so wrong that they did it in private,” Murphy affirmed, noting that the payments could be considered “the elements of a bribe.”

What we are talking about here is stunning. It’s a secret payment (…), and then, soon after, a gift of national security secrets to the UAE, that up until those two secret payments, every American president had refused to give. This is corruption (…). This is potentially criminal conduct.

Moreover, the senator asserted that “the rule of law may be suspended today,” but declared that it “is coming back, and when it does, everyone who has greased their palms off government services, trading government favors for cash, and violating the laws of this nation are going to jail.”

The congressman called for new leadership in his X post, urging “massive anti-corruption reforms” to avert future secret deals.

He explained that he is not involved in WLFI’s day-to-day operations, as his sons oversee the crypto firm. “Well, I don’t know about it. I know that crypto is a big thing, and they like it. A lot of people like it,” the US president said. “The people behind me like it. My sons are handling that. My family is handling it. And I guess they get investments from different people. But I’m not.”

They argued that World Liberty Financial and its token “lack adequate safeguards to prevent bad actors from moving funds or gaining influence over its governance,” raising the alarm over a potential conflict of interest.