Two US Senators have called for an investigation into Trump Administration official Steve Witkoff, citing his ties to crypto company World Liberty Financial.

Massachusetts’s Elizabeth Warren and Rhode Island’s Jack Reed cited the US’ decision to send advanced AI chips to the United Arab Emirates just two weeks after a UAE-backed fund said it would use World Liberty’s stablecoin to acquire a $2 billion stake in Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange.

In order to acquire the stablecoin, the firm, MGX, had to deposit $2 billion in World Liberty. The company invests deposits in short-term US Treasuries, which currently yield between 3.5% and 4.1% annually.

The senators asked the Office of Government Ethics and other agencies to provide more information as to whether the deals amounted to a quid-pro-quo, given Witkoff’s ties to World Liberty and his position as Trump’s Middle East Special Envoy.

“Mr. Witkoff was a chief architect of a deal that appears to have aided a foreign power’s effort to acquire US technology with serious economic and national security implications,” the senators wrote on Tuesday. “And he potentially did so in exchange for his personal financial benefit.”

Witkoff is a New York real estate magnate and longtime friend of US President Donald Trump. He is also a co-founder of World Liberty, alongside his sons Alex and Zach, Trump, Trump’s sons, and crypto entrepreneurs Chase Herro and Zachary Folkman.

World Liberty launched in October 2024 with the goal of making “crypto and America great by driving the mass adoption of stablecoins and decentralised finance.” In March, the company said it would begin issuing a stablecoin, USD1.

Witkoff was named as Trump’s Middle East Special Envoy on November 12, 2024. His disclosure form states he assumed the role in June of this year, though he was present at high-level diplomatic meetings as early as January, according to the senators.

World Liberty has drawn enormous scrutiny from ethics experts and Congressional Democrats, who say the firm presents an unprecedented conflict of interest for the First Family.

As of Wednesday, the Trumps held a 38% stake in World Liberty through their company, DT Marks DEFI LLC. At the same time, Trump has been pushing for crypto-friendly legislation that could boost the value of World Liberty’s crypto holdings.

In May, Folkman said Witkoff was “in the process of fully divesting from WLFI ($0.13),” another World Liberty token.

“He has no operational role, no financial interest in WLFI deals, and no influence on day-to-day decisions,” Folkman said in a statement on X.

But Witkoff’s ethics disclosure, filed in August, lists World Liberty as one of many investments held by Witkoff Holdings LLC, the senators noted. In September, a White House spokesperson told the New York Times that Witkoff was “still in the process of divesting.”

Moreover, that disclosure wasn’t signed by an ethics expert as required by law, according to the senators.

“Mr. Witkoff appears to have worked for months before disclosing his financial interests to the public, contrary to what his disclosure form suggests,” they wrote.

The senators demanded that the Office of Government Ethics and other agencies answer several questions, including the status of Witkoff’s investments in World Liberty, any conversations he may have had with UAE officials regarding World Liberty, and a legal analysis as to whether he violated criminal conflict-of-interest laws.

Aleks Gilbert is DL News’ New York-based DeFi correspondent. You can reach him at aleks@dlnews.com.