Trump says he knows 'nothing' about UAE-linked investment in his crypto firm

President Donald Trump said he knows “nothing” about World Liberty Financial, the crypto company he co-owns, when asked about foreign investors and potential conflicts of interest during a 60 Minutes interview aired Sunday.

“Because I know nothing about it,” Trump told CBS News correspondent Ross Douthat when asked why foreign investment in his crypto business would not raise the same corruption concerns he might have raised if former President Joe Biden had similar interests. 

Douthat also asked why Trump could not sell his stake in World Liberty Financial while allowing his sons to continue running the company. “How do you divest from cash?” Trump replied. He said most of his wealth was held with major Wall Street firms and invested in index funds.

The President had earlier defended retaining his stake by saying his sons ran the business. World Liberty launched in September 2024, naming him its “Chief Crypto Advocate,” while Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump were designated “Web3 Ambassadors” and Barron Trump was listed as “Chief DeFi Visionary.”

“I have a company. My sons run the company. It’s hard to say to them, ‘Don’t do anything anymore for four years because I’m president,’” he said.

Trump's crypto orbit 

The remarks come amid scrutiny of World Liberty's foreign investment and ownership structure. In August, the Wall Street Journal reported that UAE national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan and co-investors held a 49% stake in WLFI-linked WLTC Holdings. The company recently received the OCC's preliminary approval for a national trust bank charter.

Separately, an earlier WSJ report said a Tahnoon-backed investment vehicle secretly acquired a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial for $500 million shortly before Trump's inauguration.

World Liberty is also facing a legal dispute with investor Justin Sun, who says he invested $45 million in WLFI tokens. Sun has sought sanctions against the company, alleging it failed to disclose that entities in its ownership structure had UAE citizenship until months into their legal dispute. The Tron founder sued in April over the alleged freezing of his tokens, while World Liberty has called his case a “meritless PR stunt.”

Meanwhile, Public Citizen estimated in August that investors across Trump-linked crypto products were at least $4.7 billion underwater, largely in unrealized losses. It attributed at least $1 billion of those paper losses to WLFI.