Finance · 11 August, 2026 · 3 min read
New York Times Says Guren “Bobby” Zhou Bought $100 Million in World Liberty Financial Tokens
Guren 'Bobby' Zhou, a UK-based businessman, bought $100 million in WLFI tokens via Aqua 1. Zhou was arrested in UK in 2021 on suspicion of money laundering but not charged.
Whether the source of the $100m was confirmed or explicitly unknowable.
8 of 10 outlets skipped it: zhou used X audio pseudonym “Mr. Bobby” for Aqua 1.
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Same story, two versions
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Benzinga
“The A 2024 British court record names Zhou among six people suspected of participating in a money laundering scheme beginning in 2019.”Read the original ↗
incrypted
“Information about the investigation was publicly available, but it is unclear how thoroughly World Liberty Financial vetted the investor’s background”Read the original ↗
Benzinga foregrounds court-scheme suspicion; incrypted foregrounds unclear vetting and transparency issues.
$100M via Aqua 1
A New York Times investigation says Guren “Bobby” Zhou, identified as the figure behind Aqua 1, bought $100 million worth of World Liberty Financial tokens from the Trump family crypto business in June 2025.
“as much as $75 million of that money was distributed to a company controlled by the president and his three sons”
The reports tie the purchase to World Liberty’s revenue-sharing structure, with The New York Times saying that under World Liberty policy "as much as $75 million of that money was distributed to a company controlled by the president and his three sons."
The same New York Times account says the money also benefited the family of Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration’s special peace envoy and the father of Zach Witkoff, co-founder of World Liberty.
A separate report says the Aqua 1 foundation acknowledged in July 2025 that Dave Lee joined the company as co-founder and chief executive officer in April 2025, but did not say whether he was behind the funds going into the WLFI tokens.
The transaction’s backers also include Tron founder Justin Sun, who initially invested $45 million in World Liberty’s tokens, and an Abu Dhabi entity backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, reported to hold a $500 million stake.
UK probe and red flags
Multiple outlets frame Zhou as a businessman tied to an active UK money-laundering investigation, with the New York Times describing him as having been investigated in Britain for money laundering and later becoming one of the biggest buyers of tokens from World Liberty Financial.
The New York Times says Zhou was a failed hardwood flooring retailer in Britain who had come under investigation there for money laundering and presided over the collapse of a small crypto start-up before he dropped a total of $100 million through Aqua 1.
Benzinga, citing the New York Times investigation, says a 2024 British court record names Zhou among six people suspected of participating in a money laundering scheme beginning in 2019, and says British officials confirmed the investigation remains active and have not charged Zhou.B
Benzinga also reports that blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence determined that a wallet tied to Zhou’s prior company Web3Port bought $20 million in World Liberty tokens in January 2025, and that a second wallet linked to Aqua 1 bought $80 million in June 2025.B
In the same Benzinga account, Patrick Prinz of Recoveris tells the New York Times that Zhou’s profile should have triggered anti-money laundering documentation requirements before World Liberty accepted the money, citing Zhou’s business failures, sudden access to wealth, the size of the transaction, and the active investigation as red flags.
Conflict-of-interest denials
The reports say the Aqua 1 transaction raised questions about potential conflicts of interest in the Trump administration because Aqua 1 described itself as a “Web3-native fund” based in the United Arab Emirates.
“White House spokesperson Anna Kelley has repeatedly said that there were “no conflicts of interest“ with the president’s investments.”
Cointelegraph reports that White House spokesperson Anna Kelley has repeatedly said there were “no conflicts of interest“ with the president’s investments, responding to concerns raised by the foreign-linked investment vehicle.
The New York Times describes Zhou’s $100 million as coming from a businessman with red flags and unknown motivations, noting that he kept quiet about the purchase for months other than speaking briefly as “Mr. Bobby” from Aqua 1 during an audio stream on X.
Benzinga adds that World Liberty spokesman David Wachsman told the newspaper the company followed all applicable laws but declined to say whether it knew the source of Zhou’s funds.B
The same Benzinga report says the source of the $100 million used for the WLFI purchase remains unclear, and frames the open UK probe and the opacity of the funds as complicating how World Liberty vetted the investor’s background before accepting the money.B