UAE Official 'Spy Sheikh' Holds Major Stake in Trump Family Crypto Bank

The powerful United Arab Emirates official known as the "spy sheikh" is behind the largest stake in the holding company for the Trump family's planned crypto bank, 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 advisor 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 the 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 directed $263 million to Trump family entities, according to Trump's 2025 annual financial disclosure.

The investment is one of several foreign deals that have benefited Trump's businesses since he returned to office. Trump's businesses generated at least $59.5 million in foreign licensing revenue during the first year of his second term, CNBC previously reported.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency this month granted World Liberty preliminary conditional approval to establish a federally chartered national trust bank. The bank would issue, redeem and safeguard USD1, World Liberty's dollar-backed stablecoin, but must satisfy additional conditions before opening.

The arrangement has drawn scrutiny because Tahnoon is a foreign government official and the Trump administration has negotiated with the UAE over access to advanced U.S. artificial-intelligence chips.

The administration approved chip sales to G42, a UAE state-backed AI company controlled by Tahnoon, and last month eased limits on how many chips it could purchase.

World Liberty spokesman David Wachsman called the firm "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 U.S. government and there are no conflicts of interest," he said, adding that the company neither seeks nor receives special treatment. He did not address the reported ownership structure.

The White House did not immediately responded to CNBC's request for comment but has previously said Trump "only acts in the best interest of the American public" and denied that he has conflicts of interest.