Trump-Linked WLFI Partnered With Project Tied to Sanctioned Group
World Liberty Financial ($WLFI), the crypto firm co-owned by the Trump family, recently announced a partnership with a blockchain network known as AB. This came less than a month after the US government sanctioned over 140 individuals and entities linked to what it described as one of Asia’s largest criminal organizations.
However, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), AB’s flagship resort project in East Timor involved three people who were named in those sanctions. This has raised questions about the level of due diligence performed in Trump-linked crypto deals.
The Partnership and Its Questionable Ties
The collaboration was announced on November 12, 2025. It gave AB the right to carry World Liberty’s USD1 stablecoin on its blockchain network. At the time, AB posted on X that this was a move to strengthen its “DeFi and payments ecosystem.”
But the WSJ reported that AB had, until recently, been promoting a planned “blockchain theme resort” in Timor-Leste. This resort had deep connections to people the US Treasury had just blacklisted. The resort company, AB Digital Technology Resort, was majority-owned by Yang Jian, a Cyprus citizen sanctioned for allegedly helping Prince Group CEO Chen Zhi develop a separate resort in Palau, which Treasury described as a “predatory investment.”
Yang Yanming, the resort’s general manager, was also sanctioned. So was Shih Ting-yu, a Taiwanese national identified as working on the project. All three were removed from the company shortly after the October 14 sanctions were announced, according to corporate documents. None of them have been formally charged.
The Prince Group, based in Cambodia, is accused by the US government of running at least ten violent scam compounds. It is alleged to have stolen billions from victims through “pig butchering” schemes, where online relationships are cultivated over time before the victim’s money is taken.
Who’s Behind AB and What World Liberty Says
Per the WSJ report, the AB network presents itself as decentralized, with entities in Ireland and the Cayman Islands. But investigators identified two ethnic Chinese businessmen as its central figures. One is Sui Chenggang, the beneficial owner of AB’s Cayman Islands company. The other is Lin Xiaofan, a Guangdong-born entrepreneur who travels on a St. Kitts and Nevis passport. By his own account, Lin introduced Sui to World Liberty executives.
Sui signed a memorandum of understanding with World Liberty on September 17, 2025. He claims the Timor-Leste resort “was not discussed” during those talks.
Meanwhile, World Liberty’s lawyers have said the firm carried out due diligence on AB. They claim the company was “not made aware of the resort or people behind it.” World Liberty said it only learned of AB’s connection to the East Timor project in January 2026.
“Claims attempting to link World Liberty Financial with sanctioned individuals are unfounded and untrue,” the lawyers stated.
AB, for its part, said the resort was the result of a separate memorandum of understanding that was canceled in November, before reaching “a substantive implementation stage.”
World Liberty has faced scrutiny on other fronts too. The company has also been sued by Tron founder Justin Sun, who alleged that $WLFI team members froze his tokens and threatened to burn them without justification. The company says this dispute will be settled in court.
