World Liberty Financial’s largest disclosed token purchase traces back to a Chinese businessman under active UK investigation for money laundering, the New York Times reported, with up to $75 million flowing to Trump family and Witkoff-linked entities.
Key Takeaways
- Aqua1 Foundation bought $100 million in WLFI tokens on June 26, per the New York Times.
- Aqua1 traces to Guren “Bobby” Zhou, arrested in the UK in 2021 on money laundering suspicion.
- Two of Zhou’s employees were charged in September 2025; their trial is set for 2028.
The Largest WLFI Purchase Yet
The New York Times reported that a $100 million investment in World Liberty Financial’s WLFI governance tokens, the largest single publicly disclosed purchase of the token to date, traces back to Guren “Bobby” Zhou, a Chinese businessman currently under active investigation by UK law enforcement for money laundering.
The purchase was made on June 26 through the UAE-based Aqua1 Foundation, something Bitcoin.com News covered when the deal landed, framing Aqua1 as WLFI’s largest individual investor at the time. What wasn’t known then, and is now the center of the NYT’s reporting, is who stood behind Aqua1’s capital.
Up to $75 million of the $100 million was directed toward entities controlled by the Trump family and affiliates of World Liberty Financial co-founder Zach Witkoff. World Liberty Financial, launched in 2024 as a decentralized finance (DeFi) project connecting traditional finance with blockchain-based systems, is co-founded by the Trump family and the Witkoff family, with the Trump family entitled to 75% of all WLFI token sale proceeds under the project’s token structure. WLFI tokens grant governance and voting rights rather than equity in the company.
Who Is Bobby Zhou
Zhou was arrested in the UK in March 2021 on suspicion of money laundering. A British court record filed last November accused him of participating with five other people in a money laundering operation dating back to 2019. Two longtime Zhou employees were charged in September 2025, and one of them has since pleaded guilty; a trial for the charged defendants is scheduled for 2028.
British officials confirmed the investigation into Zhou remains active as of late July 2026. Separately, Chinese courts have issued civil judgments against Zhou totaling roughly 19.4 million yuan, or about $2.4 million, over unpaid loans. That said, Zhou has not been formally charged with any crime just yet.
Lastly, it bears mentioning that Zhou met with Eric Trump in Dubai to discuss the investment and described his involvement as participation in “Trump’s family’s crypto venture.” The source of the $100 million Aqua1 used to buy into WLFI remains unclear, and the report notes no evidence has been made public tying the specific funds used in the purchase to any laundering activity.
A Pattern of Foreign Capital Flowing Into WLFI
This isn’t the first time a foreign-linked WLFI investment has drawn scrutiny, given that Sen. Elizabeth Warren called on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier this year to review a separate, larger $500 million WLFI deal over national security concerns, after a UAE-linked investment vehicle acquired a 49% stake in the project just before Trump’s inauguration.
That earlier deal already triggered a House Select Committee probe as well. Neither World Liberty Financial, Eric Trump nor Zach Witkoff has issued a public statement responding to the Times’ reporting on Zhou’s background. The company has previously said its token sales comply with applicable disclosure requirements.
In any case, the revelation adds to a growing list of questions about the due-diligence practices behind WLFI’s fundraising, which has already pulled in hundreds of millions of dollars from token sales (domestically and abroad). With Zhou’s UK investigation still active and a criminal trial for his associates not scheduled until 2028, the story is unlikely to resolve quickly.
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Shiraz Jagati