House probe targets World Liberty Financial after reported $500M UAE stake

A debate that has been roiling Washington over AI chip export controls just pulled a Trump-linked crypto venture into the spotlight.

On Feb. 4, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, announced an investigation into World Liberty Financial (WLF) and its reported foreign ties. In a public statement, Khanna said the inquiry will examine whether conflicts of interest may have influenced US policies tied to competition with China.

Khanna sent a letter to WLF co-founder Zach Witkoff demanding documents and information about a reported $500 million deal that would give a UAE royal family-linked entity a 49% stake in the company shortly before President Donald Trumps inauguration. The letter says the reported investor was Aryam Investment 1, described as controlled by a member of the UAE royal family, and raises concerns that the arrangement may have coincided with shifts in US policy meant to prevent advanced AI chips from reaching China through third countries such as the UAE. 

The requests go beyond cap-table questions. Khanna asked for WLFs full ownership structure, any board or governance rights linked to the UAE deal, and records showing where investment funds were routed. He also asked for internal communications and documents related to the firms stablecoin USD1, including how it was used in a $2 billion investment into Binance by Emirati-linked investors, a transaction referenced in the letter.

The committee framed the issue as both ethics and national security. The letter identifies Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE national security adviser, as a central figure in the reported deal and argues that his role in state security and technology investment blurs the line between private capital and government influence.

WLF has not publicly released a detailed response in the committees materials. The next step is whether the company turns over the requested records and whether lawmakers pursue hearings or legislative limits on foreign-linked crypto deals that intersect with US export controls.