Trump Crypto Took $100 Million From a Businessman With Red Flags - Th…

Businessman Guren Zhou’s Firm Purchased $100 Million in Tokens From Trump-Linked Crypto Venture

Guren “Bobby” Zhou, top left, with Zach Witkoff, right, in a private suite at the World Cup final match on July 19 in East Rutherford, N.J. Credit...Vincent Alban for The New York Times

During the World Cup soccer final in New Jersey last month, Zach Witkoff, co-founder of President Trump’s cryptocurrency company, attended from a luxury suite. Also present was Guren “Bobby” Zhou, whose firm later became a large purchaser of tokens issued by the company.

Two years earlier, Zhou had operated a hardwood flooring business in Britain that entered administration. British authorities conducted an investigation into possible money laundering connected to him. He had also been involved with a crypto project that ceased operations. In 2024, a firm he controlled, Aqua 1, purchased $100 million in tokens from World Liberty Financial. Zhou spoke briefly during an audio stream on X, identifying himself as “Mr. Bobby” from Aqua 1 and stating the firm was “very proud to be a major player in the World Liberty, which is Trump’s family’s crypto venture.”

Under the company’s distribution structure, up to $75 million of the proceeds went to an entity controlled by President Trump and his sons. The transaction also provided returns to entities linked to Steve Witkoff, father of Zach Witkoff and a Trump administration special envoy.

President Trump’s financial disclosure reported $1.4 billion in income from crypto-related activities in the prior year, with the majority attributed to anonymous sources. Reuters first identified Zhou as the principal behind Aqua 1.

World Liberty Financial maintains a compliance program that meets or exceeds industry standards, according to spokesman David Wachsman. The company did not confirm whether it had reviewed the source of funds for the Aqua 1 purchase. A White House spokeswoman stated that President Trump has no conflicts of interest and acts in the best interests of the American public. Zhou did not respond to repeated inquiries.

British court records from November show Zhou named as one of six individuals in a money-laundering investigation that began in 2019. No criminal charges have been filed against him. Officials in Britain stated in late July that the investigation remains active. The matter originated as an immigration appeal following an arrest on suspicion of money laundering.

Patrick Prinz of Recoveris, a digital-asset investigation firm, told The New York Times that the combination of Zhou’s prior business history, the transaction size, and the ongoing investigation would ordinarily prompt enhanced due-diligence requirements under anti-money-laundering rules. Such rules require firms to document the origin of customer funds in certain circumstances.

Large purchases of cryptocurrency tokens from issuers occur regularly in the sector, often through entities that do not disclose beneficial owners. World Liberty Financial has stated it follows applicable laws.

A review of Zhou’s business record shows the following sequence. Raised in Shanghai, he moved to England in 2005 for graduate studies at the University of Lancashire. He established a hardwood-flooring distribution business supplied by his father’s mills in China and later acquired an Italian factory and approximately 20 retail outlets in Britain. In 2017 he met with Welsh economic-development officials and described plans for widespread store openings; those plans did not proceed. The British companies entered administration in 2018. Court filings indicate the stores were sold without repayment of approximately $5 million recorded as owed to the father’s entity.

During the same period Zhou lived in a 1,200-square-foot apartment in Southampton. His wife and daughter had relocated from China. He participated in a local table-tennis league. During the Covid-19 pandemic he imported masks and test kits from China.

In 2020 Zhou described himself to a local newspaper as a partner in a boutique investment firm and managing director of Valens Bank, a Frankfurt-based institution. Valens Bank later stated he had been a minority shareholder but held no management position. The investment firm recorded one employee and assets below $1 million before becoming inactive.

Zhou established a family office that served one client, Singaporean investor Ander Tsui. The two formed Caduceus, a project intended to develop tools for virtual environments. In late 2021 Caduceus hosted promotional events in London. In February 2022 the company announced a planned $1 billion venture fund involving China Merchant Securities (UK). The London subsidiary stated the announcement was unauthorized and required the name to be removed. In April 2022 Caduceus announced participation by the Bin Zayed Group of Abu Dhabi in a $4 million funding round and listed a Bin Zayed executive on an advisory board. Caduceus marketing materials referenced these connections to prospective investors.

Caduceus raised approximately $7.6 million before operations ceased. Zhou relocated from London to the United Arab Emirates in summer 2024. Former associates interviewed by The Times described Zhou’s earlier business approach as ambitious and reliant on personal persuasion; several declined further involvement after reviewing public records. The source of the funds used by Aqua 1 for the World Liberty purchase has not been publicly documented.

The transaction occurred through standard cryptocurrency channels that permit purchases without immediate public identification of the buyer. No regulatory finding has determined that World Liberty Financial violated anti-money-laundering requirements in connection with the Aqua 1 purchase.