- World Liberty Financial announced an arrangement with AB less than a month after U.S. sanctions tied to the Prince Group.
- AB had promoted a planned East Timor blockchain resort led by two men later sanctioned by the U.S.
- World Liberty’s lawyer said the arrangement was a limited, non-exclusive technology integration for USD1.
World Liberty Financial, the Trump family-linked crypto company, faces scrutiny over an arrangement with AB, a virtual-currency venture tied to a resort project involving two men later sanctioned by the U.S. The deal enabled the use of World Liberty’s USD1 stablecoin on AB’s network.
Notably, the arrangement came less than a month after U.S. authorities announced criminal charges and sanctions against Prince Group, which they described as a major Asia-based criminal organization. However, World Liberty’s lawyer said the company had no association with the sanctioned individuals and no knowledge of the resort project.
AB Deal Followed U.S. Sanctions
Meanwhile, the Justice Department and Treasury Department announced action on October 14 against Prince Group and a network of people and companies. U.S. officials accused the group of operating scam compounds in Cambodia and laundering proceeds from online fraud schemes.
Less than a month later, World Liberty Financial announced an arrangement with AB. A World Liberty post on X said “WLFI Partners with AB,” while AB also called the arrangement a partnership in a news release.
World Liberty’s lawyer disputed that label and described the arrangement as a “limited non-exclusive technology integration.” He said it allowed USD1 stablecoin use on AB’s network and involved no money changing hands or profit-sharing arrangement.
According to the lawyer, World Liberty’s due diligence matched the limited nature of the arrangement. He said the review did not identify sanctioned individuals and added, “WLF takes its compliance obligations very seriously.”
Resort Links Draw Attention
AB had promoted a planned “blockchain” resort in East Timor before the sanctions issue entered wider public view. The project included villas, a yacht club, crypto and artificial-intelligence events, and on-site crypto payment options.
The resort company listed Yang Jian as a controlling shareholder, according to East Timor’s corporate registry. Yang Yanming said he served as the project’s general manager. The U.S. Treasury later sanctioned both men over alleged work tied to Prince Group’s wider network.
Yang Yanming said he never had business dealings with Prince Group and had no knowledge of illegal activity. He said he was dismissed from the AB resort position on October 16, two days after the sanctions announcement.
AB’s responsible party, Sui Chenggang, said the resort project was an independent entity. He said AB terminated a preliminary agreement with the resort project after the sanctions and later gave World Liberty compliance explanations and evidence.
USD1 Remains on AB Chain
Even so, AB describes itself as a broader ecosystem that includes AB Chain, a crypto network, and other related entities. Sui said World Liberty’s USD1 is the only stablecoin currently deployed on AB Chain and appears on AB’s main website.
World Liberty’s lawyer said the company first became aware in January of allegations that AB was connected to an East Timor project involving sanctioned individuals. Nevertheless, he said World Liberty had no association or relationship with the sanctioned men.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said President Trump’s assets are held in a trust managed by his children. She also said there are no conflicts of interest and that Trump acts in the public’s best interests.
Additionally, AB later removed mention of the resort from its website. The Wall Street Journal reported that talks between World Liberty and AB began after Sui was introduced to World Liberty co-founder Ryan Fang in September.
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