World Liberty Financial’s Troubling AI Venture

World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm co-founded by Alex and Zach Witkoff—who are the sons of billionaire Trump advisor Steve Witkoff, along with ties to the Trump family—reportedly has stakes in a Hong Kong-based artificial intelligence (AI) project that has connections to Chinese firms subject to U.S. government regulation.

A report from Reuters reveals that the company is collaborating with WorldClaw, a relatively new enterprise in Hong Kong that offers subscribers access to a range of AI models created by companies globally. However, an investigation by Reuters uncovered that around half of these AI models are either owned by or trace back to mainland Chinese companies, which face restrictions in the U.S. due to national security issues.

Some of these firms include major players like Alibaba, Baidu, and Z.ai, among others, according to the report.

The partnership is concerning, especially considering that the Daily Caller previously highlighted that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) had granted World Liberty Financial a national trust bank license, albeit with certain conditions. This license allows them to set up a national trust bank in the U.S.

It’s important to note that the OCC operates under the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

While the licensing process should theoretically subject World Liberty Financial to rigorous regulatory oversight, there isn’t a precedent for the children of a sitting president and a prominent White House advisor obtaining banking charters.

Moreover, there are lingering concerns about potential connections between World Liberty Financial and Chinese companies linked to Chinese military interests as identified by the U.S. federal government.

Despite attempts to gather comments, neither the Treasury Department nor the OCC responded to multiple inquiries from the Daily Caller.