Two Democratic senators are calling on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to evaluate whether a reported $500 million stake in Trump-linked crypto project World Liberty Financial by a UAE government-linked entity warrants a national security review.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Andy Kim, both members of the Senate Banking Committee, sent a letter to Bessent on Friday asking him to determine whether the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) should examine the deal, according to Reuters. CFIUS is a Treasury-led interagency panel that vets foreign investments for national security risks.
The senators gave Bessent until March 5 to respond. They asked whether CFIUS had already reviewed the transaction or made any recommendations to President Donald Trump about it. The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Block.
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that G42, a company backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s national security adviser and manager of its largest sovereign wealth fund, acquired a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial days before Trump’s second inauguration in January 2025.
The deal was executed through an entity called Aryam Investment 1 and signed by Eric Trump, according to the Journal. Of an initial $250 million upfront payment, $187 million was directed to Trump family entities and at least $31 million to entities affiliated with the family of Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East and a World Liberty co-founder, per the report. Trump has denied knowledge of the investment.
Warren and Kim reportedly argued CFIUS had a clear mandate to review transactions that could give foreign governments access to sensitive technology or personal data. They pointed to the fact that World Liberty Financial says it collects personal information from users and questioned whether the UAE or China could gain access to that data. Representatives for the senators did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Block.
The senators also cited longstanding U.S. intelligence warnings that G42 may have provided technology to assist China’s military. G42 has faced bipartisan scrutiny over its ties to Chinese firms, including Huawei and Beijing Genomics Institute. G42 has said it divested from Chinese companies in early 2024.
The CFIUS request adds to a growing list of probes targeting the deal. Last week, Rep. Ro Khanna, ranking member of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition with China, launched a separate investigation, demanding documents and answers from World Liberty co-founder Zach Witkoff by March 1.
Khanna’s letter focused on whether the investment may have influenced U.S. export policy on advanced AI chips after the Trump administration approved a plan to give the UAE access to 500,000 of the most advanced AI chips per year.
Bessent was already grilled over World Liberty Financial at a House Financial Services Committee hearing last week, where Rep. Gregory Meeks asked him to pause a pending bank charter application tied to the firm. World Liberty’s trust company filed in January for a national trust bank charter from the OCC. The OCC has declined Warren’s earlier request to delay that review.
World Liberty Financial operates the USD1 stablecoin, which has grown to over $5 billion in circulating supply since its March 2025 launch. The company counts Trump and Witkoff as co-founders emeritus and is run by members of both families. It is also developing a foreign exchange remittance platform and is hosting a World Liberty Forum at Mar-a-Lago on Feb. 18.
A World Liberty Financial spokesperson has previously stated that neither Trump nor Witkoff had any involvement in the UAE transaction.
© 2026 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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