J. Benjamin Greenberg, a shareholder in Circle Internet Group, filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against US President Donald Trump and World Liberty Financial, alleging that two transactions linked to the United Arab Emirates violated the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause.
The case raises questions about whether Trump’s crypto business interests created an unfair advantage over competitors, including Circle, whose USDC stablecoin competes with World Liberty’s USD1.
Lawsuit Targets World Liberty’s UAE-Linked Transactions
Greenberg’s complaint concerns the $500 million sale of a 49% stake in World Liberty to an investment vehicle backed by a member of the ruling family of the UAE. It also centers on the use of USD1 by Abu Dhabi-based MGX to fund a $2 billion investment in Binance.
The Foreign Emoluments Clause restricts presidents from accepting payments from foreign governments without congressional approval. Greenberg alleges the transactions breached that provision and financially harmed Circle shareholders through unfair competition.
“This action is about the President of the United States corruptly profiting from more than $2 billion in payments from a foreign government in direct violation of the constitution,” Greenberg wrote in the complaint.
The filing also claims that “no president in American history has profited from his office so brazenly.”
The lawsuit seeks an order preventing Trump from violating the clause, the return of allegedly illegal profits and unspecified damages. Greenberg brought the case as an individual shareholder seeking recovery on Circle’s behalf, rather than as a lawsuit initiated by the company itself.
According to a report by Bloomberg, World Liberty rejected the allegations. Its spokesperson, David Wachsman, described the claims as “without merit” and stated that the company complies with US laws and regulations. A White House spokesperson likewise denied that Trump had conflicts of interest, calling the lawsuit frivolous. Meanwhile, Circle confirmed it did not initiate, direct, authorize, or participate in the filing.
Crypto Ventures Were Already Under Scrutiny
Last year, the president disclosed more than $1 billion in earnings tied to his crypto ventures, including World Liberty. Democrats in Congress pushed back, and the backlash has been blamed in part for the failure of the CLARITY Act, which was meant to set market-structure rules for the industry.
As CryptoPotato reported earlier, consumer advocacy group Public Citizen estimated in August that ventures tied to the president and his family have left investors at least $4.7 billion underwater since 2022, most of it unrealized. The TRUMP meme coin accounts for $3.2 billion of that and WLFI for $1 billion, while the group estimated no loss for USD1.
The new case, Greenberg v. Trump, was filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, and the allegations have yet to be adjudicated.
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