Sen. Elizabeth Warren and another top Democrat, Sen. Jack Reed, called on the Justice Department and Treasury Department Tuesday to investigate World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm that President Donald Trump’s children are heavily invested in.
Warren claims the company has connections to North Korea, Russia, and Iran.
Will this be Democrat’s “Russia, Russia, Russia” version 2.0?
Warren and Reed, both Democrats and minority members on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that claimed World Liberty Financial doesn’t have safeguards to prevent foreign enemies from illegally moving funds or laundering money.
Warren demanded the Treasury and Justice Department outline potential enforcement actions against World Liberty Financial by December 1.
As evidence, Warren and Reed referenced a September report from a watchdog group that claimed World Liberty Financial sold $10,000 worth of its $WLFI coins in January to traders with a shady history linking them to a North Korean hacking team, Lazarus Group.
The senators claimed the token sales gave entities with “open and obvious connections to enemies of the U.S.” influence over World Liberty Financial and was a national security risk. The report also claimed World Liberty Financial sold tokens to entities linked to a Russian “Ruble-backed sanctions evasion tool,” as well as an Iranian crypto traders.
World Liberty Financial denied any wrongdoing, and said they’ve turned down millions of dollars from outside entities that didn’t pass their security tests.
“There is no conflict of interest between World Liberty Financial, a private crypto company with zero political power, and the U.S. government,” a spokesperson told CNBC. “World Liberty Financial conducted rigorous [Anti-Money Laundering verification] checks on every pre-sale purchaser of the $WLFI governance token — the highest standard in the industry — and turned down millions of dollars from potential purchasers who failed the tests.”
The World Liberty Financial website lists Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Barron Trump as co-founders. President Donald Trump is listed as “Co-Founder Emeritus” but does not control the company. Trump family friend Steve Witkoff’s son, Zach Witkoff, is the CEO of World Liberty Financial.
Warren, a ranking member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, is a frequent critic of Trump’s embrace of the crypto industry.