Sheikh Tahnoon holds a 49% stake in the Trump family's cryptocurrency bank; speculation surrounds his connection to the AI chip deal.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Sheikh Thanun and a group of UAE investors hold a 49% stake in the parent company of World Liberty's cryptocurrency bank, after previously investing $500 million. This move is being closely watched for its connection to the AI chip deal.
On August 28, 2026, at 4:16 AM, CNBC reported that Sheikh Tanoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Advisor of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and younger brother of the UAE President, along with a group of investors, are behind the entity holding a 49% stake in the cryptocurrency bank holding company that the Donald Trump family plans to establish, World Liberty Financial, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
The report indicates that Sheikh Tahnoon, an influential high-ranking UAE official nicknamed the "Spy Sheikh," along with a group of investors, are behind StringZ Holding RSC, which holds a 49% stake in WLTC Holdings, a bank's holding company currently in the process of being established, while entities associated with the Trump family hold the remaining 38%.
Sheikh Tanun's business relationship with World Liberty Financial predates other investors. In January 2568, the same month that Trump began his second term as US president, Sheikh Tanun and other investors invested $500 million in World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company backed by the Trump family, acquiring a 49% stake in the company.
According to Trump's 2568 financial disclosure documents, approximately $263 million in investment from that deal was transferred to entities within the Trump family.
This investment is one of several foreign deals that have generated revenue for Trump's businesses since his return to the White House. Previously, CNBC reported that Trump's businesses earned at least $59.5 million from licensing rights to names and brands abroad during the first year of his second term.
The latest development has garnered more attention after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the U.S. banking regulator, granted preliminary, conditional approval to World Liberty this month to establish a National Trust Bank under a federal license.
The bank plans to issue, exchange, and safeguard USD1, World Liberty's US dollar-backed stablecoin. However, the company still needs to fulfill additional requirements before it can officially begin operations.
This investment structure is being closely watched because Sheikh Tahnoon is a high-ranking official in a foreign government, while the Trump administration is negotiating and making decisions on issues related to the UAE, particularly access to advanced US artificial intelligence (AI) chips.
The U.S. government has approved the sale of chips to G42, an AI company backed by the UAE government and controlled by Sheikh Ta'noon. Last month, it also relaxed restrictions on the number of chips the company can purchase.
The connections between Sheikh Tahnoon's role as a UAE government official, his investments in businesses associated with the Trump family, and the U.S. government's decisions regarding the export of advanced technology to the UAE have led to scrutiny and questions surrounding the relationship between business and government policy in this agreement.
However, David Waksman, a spokesman for World Liberty, stated that the company is a privately owned U.S. fintech company, not a political organization, and that the trust has a separate governance structure.
He affirmed that no World Liberty personnel work for the U.S. government and that there are no conflicts of interest, adding that the company does not seek or receive special treatment from the government. However, he did not directly comment on the ownership structure reported by the WSJ.
The White House has not immediately responded to CNBC's request for comment, but has previously stated that Trump acted in the best interests of the American people and denied allegations of a conflict of interest.
Reference: cnbc.com
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