An investment group connected to Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan holds a 49 percent stake in the holding company for a proposed national trust bank tied to World Liberty Financial, according to people familiar with the arrangements. The stake is held through StringZ Holding RSC in WLTC Holdings, the vehicle created for the banking venture. An entity linked to the family of US President Donald Trump owns 38 percent.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted World Liberty Trust Company preliminary conditional approval on August 14. If it obtains final approval, the institution would oversee issuance, redemption and custody of USD1, the dollar-backed stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial. The stablecoin currently carries a market value of approximately $4 billion and is supported by US Treasuries and cash equivalents.

Ownership Details and Regulatory Conditions

Public OCC materials confirm StringZ Holding RSC as an investor in WLTC Holdings and note that the entity signed commitments not to exert influence over the bank’s operations. Those materials do not identify Sheikh Tahnoon as a backer of StringZ or disclose the precise ownership percentages of individual shareholders. The trust bank cannot begin operations until it meets all pre-opening requirements set by the OCC and receives final authorization.

World Liberty Financial established the trust company structure earlier this year with the stated goal of placing stablecoin-related activities under federal supervision. Company executives have described the effort as a step toward greater institutional acceptance of its digital dollar product.

Prior Investment Ties

The reported holding-company stake extends an existing relationship. Sheikh Tahnoon and co-investors previously supported a $500 million transaction that secured a 49 percent interest in World Liberty Financial itself. That earlier arrangement directed substantial proceeds to Trump family-related entities and occurred shortly before the president’s inauguration. Democratic senators later requested congressional examination of the deal and any possible effects on US policy toward the United Arab Emirates.

Sheikh Tahnoon serves as the UAE’s national security adviser and is the brother of the country’s president. He also chairs G42, an artificial-intelligence company that received US authorization in late 2025 to import advanced AI chips following a broader technology-cooperation framework between Washington and Abu Dhabi.

Company Response and Next Steps

A World Liberty Financial spokesman stated that the firm is a private American financial-technology company and does not receive special treatment. Requests for comment directed to the Trump Organization did not receive responses in available reports. White House officials have previously rejected suggestions of conflicts of interest arising from the family’s business activities.

The bank project remains subject to remaining regulatory conditions. Final approval would place the core functions of the USD1 stablecoin under a federally chartered trust bank, marking a further expansion of World Liberty Financial’s regulated operations.