'The Due‑Diligence Gap': Trump‑Linked Crypto Took $100M From Man Under UK Money‑Laundering Probe

President Donald Trump's cryptocurrency venture received a $100 million (£73.9 million) investment from a businessman who had previously come under investigation in Britain for money laundering, according to an investigation. The money was channelled through a firm called Aqua 1 and generated payments for companies connected to Mr Trump, his sons and the family of a Trump administration envoy.

The transaction has drawn attention because it involved one of World Liberty Financial's largest token purchases by a businessman with a recent history of failed ventures. It also shows how a crypto token sale can generate substantial payments for companies linked to a sitting US president and his relatives.

Aqua 1's $100M World Liberty Financial Purchase

Guren 'Bobby' Zhou made the $100 million (£73.9 million) investment through Aqua 1, becoming one of the largest buyers of tokens issued by World Liberty Financial. Two years earlier, he had been a hardwood-flooring retailer in Britain whose business had failed, while a small crypto start-up he oversaw had also collapsed.

Zhou had come under investigation in Britain for money laundering before the Aqua 1 transaction, the report said. It does not say that he was convicted of money laundering.

Zhou was seen with Zach Witkoff, a World Liberty Financial co-founder, in a luxury suite during the World Cup final in New Jersey last month. The paper reported that the appearance was a rare public sighting of the investor whose money had enriched Mr Trump and the venture's co-founders.

Aqua 1's role was not widely discussed publicly for months, apart from an X audio stream featuring a speaker who identified himself as 'Mr Bobby'. 'We're very proud to be a major player in the World Liberty, which is Trump's family's crypto venture,' he said.

Trump-Linked Entities Received up to $75M

Under World Liberty Financial policy, as much as $75 million (£55 million) from the purchase was distributed to a company controlled by Mr Trump and his three sons. The arrangement meant Trump-linked entities received a substantial share of the proceeds from Aqua 1's token purchase.

The transaction also benefited the family of Steve Witkoff, Trump's special peace envoy and the father of World Liberty Financial co-founder Zach Witkoff. The investigation reported that Zhou's investment enriched both Mr Trump and the company's co-founders.

World Liberty Financial issued the WLFI tokens bought by Aqua 1. Zhou's statement on X described the venture as 'Trump's family's crypto venture'.

The transaction's structure is central to questions surrounding the investment because a $100 million token purchase generated substantial payments for entities tied to the president and his family. The report does not establish that World Liberty Financial, Mr Trump, Zhou or any Trump-linked entity committed wrongdoing in relation to the sale.

Why the Investment Has Raised Questions

The paper said a windfall of this scale for a sitting president from a foreign investor with no public signs of access to such wealth would have gone against political norms in an earlier era. It added that a transaction of this kind might have prompted a congressional investigation in the past.

The investigation described Zhou's case as illustrating how investors with unclear backgrounds and unknown motivations can direct money towards a president's business interests through cryptocurrency.

For UK readers, the domestic link is Zhou's previous business activity in Britain and the money-laundering investigation detailed in the report. That investigation is relevant context, but it should not be treated as evidence that he committed a crime.

Reports said the case illustrated how investors with unclear backgrounds and unknown motivations can direct money towards a president's business interests through cryptocurrency. Its report did not establish the source of Zhou's $100 million or explain why Aqua 1 made the purchase.