A $100 million investment in World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the crypto venture linked to President Trump and his family, is under scrutiny because of its connection to businessman Guren “Bobby” Zhou, who has been investigated by UK authorities over suspected money laundering, as reported by The New York Times.
Zhou has not been charged with a crime, and the investigation does not establish wrongdoing. UK officials reportedly said the investigation remained active as of late July 2026.
The $100 million came through Aqua 1, a UAE-based Web3 investment firm that bought WLFI tokens in 2025. Reuters was the first to report that Zhou was the person behind Aqua 1.
Zhou’s path to this deal goes back further: after moving to the UAE in 2024, he became CEO of a crypto investment firm, Web3Port, which announced a $10 million investment in WLFI in early 2025. According to reports, a British Virgin Islands (BVI) company tied to Web3Port later renamed itself Aqua 1 GP Limited and, shortly after, Aqua 1 announced its much larger $100 million WLFI tokens. Aqua 1 had previously denied any link to Web3Port after reporters first connected the two.
Under World Liberty’s revenue-sharing policy, up to $75 million of the $100 million Aqua 1 investment was distributed to a company controlled by President Trump and his three sons. The money also benefited Zach Witkoff, the co-founder of World Liberty Financial and son of Steve Witkoff, is a special envoy in the Trump administration.
According to media reports, Zhou ran a failed small crypto venture and worked in the UK flooring industry. The source of the money hasn’t been made public.
According to reports, Zhou was detained in Britain in 2021 on suspicion of money laundering, and his problems with UK authorities started. He soon made an appearance in a UK court document listing him as one of six individuals charged with participating in a money laundering scheme in 2019. Two of his longtime staff members were charged in September 2025 and one of them has now entered a guilty plea. The remaining accused will go on trial in 2028. Zhou’s investigation was still underway as of July 2026, and he had not been charged or found guilty.
Separately, Zhou was linked to a blockchain project called Caduceus, which claimed backing from China Merchants Securities UK and the Bin Zayed Group. Both organisations later told the New York Times that claims about their involvement were unauthorised and materially false.
WLFI has defended its handling of Zhou’s investment, with company spokesperson David Wachsman stating to The New York Times that the firm complied with all applicable laws and regulations and maintains a compliance programme that meets or exceeds industry standards.
However, Wachsman declined to say whether the company was aware of the source of the funds used to purchase the property.
The White House spokeswoman, Anna Kelly, said President Donald Trump has no conflicts of interest. He acts in the public interest; questions persist about whether WLFI fully understood the source of the funds before accepting the investment.
