The cryptocurrency company presented by the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, and his new envoy to the Middle East, the billionaire Steve Witkoffpartnered with a crypto platform that, according to authorities and financial experts, is used by criminals and militant groups backed by Iran, like Hamas and Hezbollah.
World Liberty Financial Inc., founded by the family Witkoff two months before the US elections in November, with Trump as a financial beneficiary, raised concerns about ethics and conflicts of interest, according to six US government ethicists.
Among the biggest concerns is World Liberty’s new partner: the Tron crypto platform.
What Tron is about
Faster and cheaper than Bitcoin, the Tron network surpasses its rival as a means of crypto transfers associated with groups designated as terrorist organizations by Israel, the United States and other countriesaccording to a report by 2023 Reuters based on interviews with seven experts in financial crimes and cryptocurrency investigations.
Last month, Tron announced a $30 million investment in World Liberty. Justin Sun, the Chinese-born entrepreneur and founder of Tron, will join the initiative as an advisor Trump-Witkoff, as announced by Sun and World Liberty on the X platform. Tron, registered in the British Virgin Islands, has become the largest investor in World Liberty, according to Sun.
Since 2021, Israeli security authorities point to cryptocurrency seizures related to the use of Tron by militants, including Hamas, whose 2023 attack on Israel caused the death of 1,200 people, according to Israeli authorities, triggering the war in Gaza.
Israel’s National Bureau for Counterterrorism Financing (NBTCF), responsible for these seizures, froze 186 Tron wallets since July 2021, alleging they were used by a “designated terrorist organization” or for a “serious terrorism crime”. Of these, Israeli authorities linked 84 Tron wallets to Hamas or Hamas allies, including Islamic Jihad, 39 with Hezbollah and 63 with unspecified terrorist groups or moneychangers. The most recent seizure was announced on March 28.
Tron, which profits from transaction fees on its network, told Reuters that its technology “has attracted both legal users and those with illicit motives,” but did not specifically respond to accusations that it has been used by militants. The company said it had taken “proactive measures” to address the risk of illicit activities on its network and, in collaboration with authorities, froze $70 million in illicit funds in September. Sun, the founder, did not respond to a request for comment.
During a conference in Abu Dhabi, Eric Trump He told Reuters that the use of cryptocurrencies by criminal groups was “everyone’s main concern,” although he noted that traditional financial institutions are also used to move “dirty money.” He added that the crypto industry will do “a great job” of self-regulating against these illicit flows.
The Treasury is also going after Tron
The US Treasury Department also seized Tron wallets, including one linked to a group the department said raised funds for Hamas following the 2023 attack. In March, the Treasury sanctioned a Lebanon-based exchanger that provided crypto accounts, including a Tron wallet, to Hezbollah officials to receive funds from Iran.
Tron’s investment in World Liberty then raised concerns among ethics experts. “This is full of red flags,” said Kathleen Clark, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis. Their concerns include the significant size of Tron’s investment in World Liberty, whether Trump could benefit financially from it and the alleged use of Tron by militants, including Hamas and Hezbollah.
He also highlighted an SEC investigation into Sun, charged in 2023 with fraud for artificially inflating trading volume and concealing payments to celebrities to promote their companies. Sun denied the allegations, but the case remains open. Clark questioned whether World Liberty’s close relationship with Sun could represent a conflict of interest for Trump when his administration takes control of the SEC in January.
Trump spokespeople did not respond directly about his financial ties to World Liberty or potential conflicts of interest.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
