UAE ‘spy sheikh’ backs 49% stake in Trump family’s crypto bank venture, WSJ reports

The powerful United Arab Emirates official known as the "spy sheikh" is behind the largest stake in the holding company for the Trump family's planned crypto bank, further deepening his financial ties to President Donald Trump's business empire, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan, the UAE's national security advisor and brother of its president, and his co-investors are behind StringZ Holding RSC, which owns a 49% stake in the bank's holding company, WLTC Holdings, according to the Journal. An entity affiliated with Trump's family owns an additional 38%.

Tahnoon and other investors previously invested $500 million in the Trump-backed World Liberty Financial in January 2025, the month Trump began his second term as president, receiving a 49% stake in the cryptocurrency company. That deal directed $263 million to Trump family entities, according to Trump's 2025 annual financial disclosure.

The investment is one of several foreign deals that have benefited Trump's businesses since he returned to office. Trump's businesses generated at least $59.5 million in foreign licensing revenue during the first year of his second term, CNBC previously reported.