- A Circle shareholder has filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump related to two cryptocurrency deals connected to the United Arab Emirates.
- The case focuses on a $500 million stake sale, in World Liberty Financial and a $2 billion purchase of assets.
- The plaintiff claims these transactions may break the Constitution’s foreign emoluments clause, which prohibits U.S. Officials from accepting gifts or payments from governments.
A Circle shareholder has taken action against U.S. President Donald Trump because of two cryptocurrency transactions that are tied to the United Arab Emirates. The Circle shareholder says that these transactions gave benefits to Trump and that Trump did not get approval from Congress.
The lawsuit was filed on Thursday in court in Washington. It names Trump, World Liberty Financial and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff as defendants. The case centers on a reported $500 million sale of a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial. It also focuses on a $2 billion purchase of the venture’s digital assets by a UAE-linked investment fund.
Circle Shareholder Sues Trump and World Liberty Over UAE-Linked Deals, Alleging Unconstitutional Profits
According to Bloomberg, a Circle shareholder has sued President Donald Trump and World Liberty Financial, alleging that Trump violated the U.S. Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause through two UAE-linked transactions: the $500 million sale of a 49% stake in World Liberty and a $2 billion Binance investment funded using its USD1 stablecoin. The plaintiff claims the deals harmed Circle investors through unfair competition and seeks the return of alleged illegal profits and damages. Circle said it was not involved in the lawsuit, while World Liberty denied the allegations.
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) October 22, 2026
J. Benjamin Greenberg, who is a software engineer and former employee of Circle and who owns about 10,000 shares, in the stablecoin issuer brought the case as a shareholder action.
Lawsuit Challenges Two UAE-linked Crypto Transactions
The complaint says that money connected to the United Arab Emirates helped fund a $500 million investment in World Liberty Financial before Trump started his term as president. Greenberg says Trump later got millions of dollars in payments after becoming president.
The lawsuit also says a $2 billion deal to buy assets from World Liberty Financial was done by a fund linked to the UAE. According to the complaint this deal made the value of Trump’s cryptocurrency go up created interest income and helped the family-backed stablecoin circulate more.
Greenberg says these transactions could break the U.S. Constitution’s foreign emoluments clause. That rule stops people who work for the government from taking benefits from countries without permission from Congress.
The person who filed the lawsuit is asking for the return of the money they say was taken, details about other payments from foreign countries related to cryptocurrency, and some other damages. None of these claims has been proven in court yet.
Circle Distances Itself From The Legal Action
Circle clarified that it did not initiate or participate in the lawsuit.
“This lawsuit was filed by an individual shareholder, not by Circle,” a company spokesperson told The Crypto Times, adding that Circle does not comment on pending litigation.
The White House and World Liberty Financial had not provided comments to the publication at the time of reporting. A World Liberty spokesperson previously stated that Trump was not involved in the 49% stake sale and had no current role at the company.
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