[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong (홍진주)] U.S. President Donald Trump has distanced himself from controversy over a UAE-linked investment in World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a crypto company co-owned by his family, saying he knows nothing about it. Questions over conflicts of interest persist after it emerged the Trump family has significant economic interests, including equity stakes and proceeds from token sales.

On Nov. 9, local time, blockchain media outlet Decrypt reported that Trump defended himself in an interview conducted after last week's midterm election over foreign investment in the family business and conflict-of-interest concerns.

In the interview, Trump was asked whether it could be seen as corruption if the same structure were applied to former President Joe Biden's family. He replied, "The difference is that I know nothing about it." Asked whether foreign investors appeared to be buying influence, he said, "I don't know."

Trump said he had not divested his stake because his sons are running the business. He said Wall Street asset managers manage most of his assets through index funds, while his sons handle the family business. He added, "It's hard to tell them to do nothing for four years just because I'm president."

Trump argued the conflict-of-interest controversy was not unique to him. He said, "Every president has dealt with this," and noted past presidents also held their own assets. He added, "Now there's crypto, and before that there was oil."

World Liberty Financial, at the center of the controversy, is a crypto business that Eric Trump unveiled in August 2024. It issued the WLFI governance token and the USD1 stablecoin, and in January this year launched World Liberty Markets, a lending and borrowing platform based on the DeFi protocol Dolomite.

The biggest point of contention is a large stake transaction carried out just before Trump's inauguration. Ariyam Investment, backed by the UAE, agreed in January 2025 to buy a 49 percent stake in World Liberty Financial for $500 million, four days before Trump took office. The investment firm is reported to be connected to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, the UAE's national security adviser. The deal was reported to have been signed by Eric Trump representing the company.

The timing of the transaction also fuelled the controversy. The investment was made before the U.S. administration eased restrictions on sales of advanced AI chips to the UAE. That raised allegations that a conflict of interest could arise between foreign investment and U.S. government policy decisions. A World Liberty spokesperson at the time said Trump or Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was not "involved in any way" in the deal. Senator Chris Murphy in February criticised the deal structure as "potentially conduct with criminal implications."

The UAE link has also emerged as an issue in a legal dispute between World Liberty and Justin Sun. Sun's legal team asked a federal court to sanction World Liberty, arguing the company delayed disclosure of a UAE ownership structure that could undermine federal jurisdiction. World Liberty countered that Sun's litigation strategy was a "baseless publicity stunt."

The Trump family's economic interests are also adding to the controversy. Company disclosures show DT Marks DeFi LLC, linked to Trump and some family members, holds about 38 percent of World Liberty Financial's holding company. The entity holds 22.5 billion WLFI tokens and also has the right to receive 75 percent of net proceeds from token sales. A separate Trump-linked entity also holds an indirect claim to interest income generated from USD1 reserve assets.

No member of the Trump family is listed in disclosures as an executive, director or employee of World Liberty. But as the Trump family has significant interests in the company's equity and token-sale revenue and the sons are involved in running the business, controversy over potential conflicts of interest among the president's family business, foreign investment and government policy is not expected to subside easily.