Trump and World Liberty Financial Sued Over $2 Billion in UAE Crypto Deals
A Circle shareholder sued Trump and World Liberty Financial in a derivative complaint alleging the president violated the Foreign Emoluments Clause through two UAE crypto deals worth over $2 billion.
Donald Trump and World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture he co founded with his sons, have been sued over claims the president illegally profited from his office, in a case built on more than $2 billion of deals with the United Arab Emirates, according to Bloomberg.
A Rival's Shareholder Brings the Case
The complaint was filed Thursday in federal court in Washington by J. Benjamin Greenberg, a shareholder and former employee of Circle Internet Group, suing derivatively on Circle's behalf. Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, competes directly with World Liberty in the stablecoin market, and Greenberg claims illegal competition from the Trump venture has harmed Circle and its investors financially. The suit names Trump, World Liberty, and four related limited liability companies as defendants. Circle itself said it did not initiate or authorize the lawsuit and does not comment on pending litigation.
The Two UAE Deals at the Center
The suit claims Trump violated the Constitution's Foreign Emoluments Clause, which bars presidents from taking payments from foreign governments without congressional approval, through two transactions. Days before Trump's January 2025 inauguration, an investment vehicle backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's national security adviser, agreed to buy a 49% stake in World Liberty for $500 million. Separately, Abu Dhabi's MGX fund, chaired by Tahnoon, purchased $2 billion of World Liberty's USD1 stablecoin to fund a transaction, a step the complaint describes as a scheme to inflate the value of the president's crypto holdings. "No president in American history has profited from his office so brazenly," the complaint states. Trump reported $1.4 billion in earnings from his crypto ventures last year, including nearly $800 million tied to World Liberty, and a Trump family affiliated entity owns about 38% of the company. The suit seeks a declaration that the profits are unconstitutional, disclosure of foreign crypto payments, and the return of illegal gains.
Both Sides Respond
The White House dismissed the case. Spokesperson Anna Kelly called it "yet another frivolous lawsuit" and said "there are no conflicts of interest." World Liberty spokesperson David Wachsman said the claims "are without merit," that the company is compliant with all US laws, and that no one at World Liberty works for the US government. The case lands on top of an already charged policy fight: Trump's reported crypto earnings drew a backlash from Democrats in Congress and have been blamed in part for the failure of the Clarity Act, the market structure bill the industry had pinned its hopes on.
Options Market and What to Watch
The listed name in the blast radius is Circle (CRCL), whose shareholder brought the case and whose USDC franchise is the direct target of World Liberty's USD1 growth. World Liberty's own token tells the volatility story: WLFI fell from about 45 cents in August 2025 to about 5 cents by June 2026. Watch for motions to dismiss on standing and emoluments grounds, the theories that have ended earlier suits against Trump businesses, and for any congressional response as the Clarity Act post mortem continues.
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