UAE Chip Exports Approved Alongside $2 Billion Investment in Trump-Linked Crypto Firm

Reporting in September 2025, led by the New York Times, detailed how a UAE state-backed investment company, MGX, put $2 billion into World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture tied to the Trump and Witkoff families, around the same period the Trump administration approved sales of advanced AI chips to the UAE. Some national security officials reportedly objected to the chip exports over concerns the technology could reach China.

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Elissa Slotkin sent letters to federal oversight agencies asking them to investigate potential conflicts of interest arising from the overlap between the family crypto investment and the chip-export approval. No public evidence has established a direct quid pro quo, and fact-checkers found unsupported the specific claim that Trump personally accepted a $2 billion bribe.

The episode nonetheless illustrates a recurring concern of the administration's second term: foreign governments investing in Trump-family business ventures around the same time they receive favorable policy treatment from the U.S. government, with key details of the underlying negotiations withheld from public view.