Trump, crypto firm sued over $2 billion in UAE-linked deals: What World Liberty's transactions revealed and why it matters

Donald Trump and World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency venture he co-founded with his sons, have been sued by a shareholder in a rival crypto firm who claims the president illegally profited from foreign government payments through two transactions linked to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

J. Benjamin Greenberg, a shareholder in Circle Internet Group Inc., claims that illegal competition by World Liberty has financially harmed him and other Circle investors.

The lawsuit alleges that Trump violated the Foreign Emoluments Clause, a provision of the US Constitution that prohibits presidents from accepting payments from foreign governments without congressional approval, in World Liberty’s two transactions with the United Arab Emirates.

“This action is about the President of the United States corruptly benefiting from more than $2 billion in payments from a foreign government in direct violation of the Constitution,” Greenberg said in the complaint filed Thursday in federal court in Washington. “No president in American history has profited so brazenly from office.”

What are the two crypto exchanges associated with the UAE?

The suit challenges two transactions involving World Liberty Financial.

The first was a $500 million deal in which an entity backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE national security adviser, bought a 49% stake in World Liberty, according to Quartz.

It also questions the $2 billion purchase of $1 World Liberty stablecoins by an Abu Dhabi investment fund that Tahnoon chairs.

Greenberg claims the transactions amounted to prohibited foreign government payments that benefited Trump. The president’s annual financial disclosure for 2025 showed more than $1.4 billion in income related to his crypto businesses.

The complaint names Trump, World Liberty, U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff and four affiliated limited liability companies as defendants.

Greenberg is seeking an injunction to prevent Trump from further violating the constitutional clause, returning allegedly illegal profits, unspecified damages and disclosing any additional foreign-sourced cryptocurrency proceeds.

What did the White House and World Freedom say?

The White House has denied the allegations, calling the lawsuit politically motivated.

“This is yet another frivolous lawsuit that echoes the same, tired narrative that Democrats have pushed against President Trump, his family and his administration for decades,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement to CNBC. She added that “there are no conflicts of interest” regarding the president.

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World Liberty spokesman David Wachsman also dismissed the allegations as “baseless.”

“World Liberty Financial complies with all US laws and regulations,” Wachsman said. “No one at World Liberty Financial works for the US government.

Matt Pelikan, an Evergreen Legal attorney representing Greenberg, said the lawsuit was meant to stop what he called corruption.

“We are suing to stop the corruption and force President Trump to return the profits to the American taxpayer,” Pelikan told CNBC.

Circle clarified that it was not behind the legal action, although Greenberg filed the case on behalf of the company.

“This lawsuit was filed by an individual shareholder, not Circle,” a company spokesperson said. “Circle did not initiate, direct, authorize or participate in the filing.”

Why the lawsuit matters

The case raises questions about potential conflicts of interest arising from Trump’s crypto business while serving as president. It also points to concerns about competition in the stablecoin market, where USD1 World Liberty competes with Circle’s USDC.

Greenberg claims that World Liberty’s activities have financially harmed Circle shareholders. The allegations were not proven in court.

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The lawsuit also follows several earlier legal challenges during Trump’s first term alleging violations of the Emoluments Clause. No one has gotten Trump’s money back or forced him to stop the business practices in question.

Separately, the Tahnoon-backed entity holds a 49% stake in WLTC Holdings, the holding company of the planned national trust bank World Liberty. The bank received preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in August.

The Justice Department had no immediate response to a request for comment, while a spokesman for Witkoff also had no immediate response.