UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan meets with US President Donald Trump at the White House on March 18, 2025. Courtesy: Donald J. Trump | Via Truth Social, the powerful UAE official known as the “spy sheikh” is behind the Trump family’s planned increased stake in the crypto bank holding company, further deepening his financial ties to President Donald Trump’s business empire, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan, the UAE’s national security adviser and brother of its president, and his co-investors are behind StringZ Holding RSC, which owns a 49% stake in the bank’s holding company, WLTC Holdings, according to the Journal. An entity affiliated with Trump’s family owns an additional 38%. Tahnoon and other investors previously invested $500 million in Trump-backed World Liberty Financial in January 2025, the month Trump began his second term as president, receiving a 49% stake in the cryptocurrency company. That deal allocated $263 million to Trump family entities, according to Trump’s 2025 annual financial statement. The investment is one of several foreign deals that have benefited Trump’s companies since he returned to office. Trump’s companies generated at least $59.5 million in foreign licensing revenue during the first year of his second term, CNBC previously reported. Read more about Trump’s investments The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted World Liberty conditional preliminary approval this month to establish a federally chartered national trust bank. The bank would issue, redeem and safeguard $1, World Liberty’s dollar-backed stablecoin, but must meet additional conditions before opening. The deal has come under scrutiny because Tahnoon is a foreign government official and the Trump administration has negotiated with the United Arab Emirates over access to advanced American artificial intelligence chips. The administration approved chip sales to G42, a state-backed artificial intelligence company controlled by Tahnoon, and last month relaxed limits on the number of chips it could buy. World Liberty spokesman David Wachsman called the company “a private American financial technology company, not a political organization” and said its trust company has separate governance. “No one at World Liberty works for the US government and there are no conflicts of interest,” he said, adding that the company does not seek or receive special treatment. He did not refer to the reported ownership structure. The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment, but has previously said Trump “only acts in the best interest of the American public” and denied he has any conflicts of interest. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.
