The New York Times revealed on Sunday that Guren “Bobby” Zhou, the person responsible for Aqua 1’s $100 million acquisition of World Liberty Financial governance tokens, was detained in Britain in 2021 on suspicion of money laundering and is still under investigation.
Zhou is not facing any charges. According to the Times, a British court document submitted in November of last year charged him with taking part in a 2019 money laundering scheme alongside five other individuals. In September of last year, two of his longstanding employes were accused in the matter; one of them entered a guilty plea. The accused defendants will go on trial in 2028.
According to the Times, Zhou was initially named by Reuters as the creator of Aqua 1. The Block revealed in June 2025 that the obscure UAE-based firm had acquired $100 million in WLFI, making it one of the largest known token buyers of World Liberty.
The Times discovered a history of unsuccessful endeavors, contested claims from well-known sponsors, and an abrupt shift in Zhou’s wealth following his relocation from London to Abu Dhabi in 2024 thru an examination of court records, private documents, and interviews with Zhou’s former partners.
According to the Times, Zhou previously oversaw a British flooring store that underwent reorganization without paying back around $5 million owing to his father’s business. Later, he started Caduceus, a cryptocurrency project whose token was essentially worthless by 2024 after the business raised over $7.6 million.
China Merchants Securities UK and the Bin Zayed Group—founded by a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family—announced their support for Caduceus. The Times was informed by both groups that claims regarding their participation were “unauthorized and materially false.”
Zhou ran Web3Port, a cryptocurrency startup firm, after moving to the United Arab Emirates. Shortly after Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, the fund made a $10 million investment in World Liberty. A Web3Port company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands subsequently changed its name to Aqua 1 GP Limited, according to The Times. Aqua 1 announced the $100 million acquisition of WLFI two weeks following the name change.
According to the Times, blockchain analytics company Arkham Intelligence found that a wallet under Web3Port’s control acquired $20 million of WLFI in January 2025, while another wallet under Aqua 1’s management bought an additional $80 million in June.
In response to a revelation that connected the two operations, Aqua 1 had previously denied any connection to Web3Port. The specifics of that previous report that Aqua 1 rejected were not made clear.
The Times said that it was unable to identify the $100 million’s source. According to the publication, a business owned by Trump and his sons received up to $75 million from the acquisition under World Liberty’s revenue-sharing arrangement. Zach Witkoff, a co-founder of World Liberty, and his father, Steve Witkoff, a special envoy for the Trump administration, both benefitted from the deal.
The Block previously revealed that DT Marks DEFI LLC, an organization under Trump’s control, receives 75% of the revenues from the sale of WLFI tokens. According to The Block, Trump’s most recent financial statement included $236.25 million in dispersed World Liberty token sales profits and over $65.6 million from the sale of WLF Holdco shares.
The Times was informed by World Liberty spokesperson David Wachsman that the business complied with all relevant laws and regulations and kept up a compliance procedure that “meets or exceeds industry standards.” He refused to comment on whether World Liberty was aware of Zhou’s funding source. Wachsman disagreed with the newspaper’s portrayal of Zhou as well, although he did not point out any particular errors.
The publication was informed by White House spokesman Anna Kelly that Trump had no conflicts of interest. When the Times asked Zhou for comment, she did not reply.
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