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New Straits Times
10 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Trump's US$100m crypto mystery man
OF all the riddles wrapped in the digital wallets sending funds to President Donald Trump's World Liberty Financial crypto business, a little-known entity last month became the biggest. A venture calling itself Aqua 1 Foundation and saying it is based in the United Arab Emirates announced in late June that it had bought US$100 million worth of World Liberty's crypto tokens, becoming the largest publicly known investor in the business. Yet a review by Reuters of corporate registries, Aqua 1's digital profile and other public information reveal almost nothing about the source of its capital or the person it named as its founding partner, Dave Lee. Reuters could not find a way of contacting Lee directly. An Aqua 1 press release listed an email for a person named Dora Lee as a media contact. In response to a Reuters request, the company last month provided an unsigned statement, saying: "At this stage, we are not disclosing additional information beyond what has been publicly shared." It added: "Aqua 1 is backed by a group of long-term, mission-aligned partners and led by Dave Lee and a global team with deep expertise in web3 and digital asset infrastructure." The Trump family receives three-quarters of all token proceeds from World Liberty, meaning the purchase by Aqua 1 will have injected tens of millions of dollars into their personal coffers. The Trumps have now earned around US$500 million from World Liberty since the crypto platform was launched last fall, Reuters calculations show. White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said while pursuing a pro-crypto agenda, the president has taken steps to insulate himself from his family's gains. "President Trump is dedicated to making America the crypto capital of the world and revolutionising our digital financial technology," Kelly said in an emailed statement. "His assets are in a trust managed by his children, and there are no conflicts of interest." The identities of nearly all of the million-dollar buyers of the World Liberty tokens, which go by $WLFI, are hidden behind anonymous digital wallets. The personal and business backgrounds of several of the top buyers of the tokens, however, are widely known. These include China-born investor Justin Sun, who with a US$75 million investment was the previous biggest publicly known buyer, and Dubai-based market maker DWF Labs, whose managing partner is Andrei Grachev, a crypto entrepreneur from Russia. Representatives for DWF Labs, which in April announced the purchase of US$25 million in World Liberty tokens, said the firm does not know Aqua 1 or Lee. Abu Dhabi's state-affiliated investment fund MGX, which chose World Liberty's crypto stablecoin for its US$2 billion investment in the Binance exchange, did not respond to a request for comment on Aqua 1, nor did Sun's company Tron. Aqua 1 had said in its June 26 announcement that World Liberty would also support its launch of a separate fund aimed at boosting the Middle East's "digital economy transformation". Aqua 1 said it would list the new fund in the Abu Dhabi Global Market financial centre. A day later, World Liberty said on social media that it was "excited to continue to build the next generation of DeFi" with Aqua 1 and Dave Lee. The Abu Dhabi financial centre, when contected, said by email: "Aqua 1 is not registered, licensed, or affiliated" with it "in any capacity". World Liberty and Trump's other crypto businesses are facing growing criticism from his US political rivals and ethics experts over their potential for influence peddling. The potential for conflicts of interest that has accompanied Trump's crypto ventures as his administration shapes regulations on the sector have also drawn criticism. In March, UAE officials committed to a 10-year, US$1.4 trillion investment plan in the US after meeting with Trump. Richard Painter, a professor at University of Minnesota's law school and former chief ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, said the lack of transparency on investors in the Trump family's crypto business, such as Aqua 1, undermined public confidence in the government. Without more information, Painter said, "everybody assumes the worst" in terms of foreign actors trying to influence the White House. "We ought to know who is sending money to the president," he added.
The Star
11 hours ago
- The Star
China and Asean to submit upgraded free trade deal to leaders in October, says China's foreign minister
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing and Asean have agreed on a five-year plan that specifies collaboration in over 40 fields. -- PHOTO: REUTERS SHANGHAI (Reuters): China and the Association of South-East Asian Nations have agreed to submit a pact upgrading their free trade areas to their leaders for approval in October, according to China's foreign minister Wang Yi on Saturday. Negotiations about the so-called 3.0 version of the free trade zone started in November 2022 and were completed in May, seeking to cover areas such as the digital economy, green economy and supply chain connectivity. China and ASEAN also agreed on a five-year action plan that specifies collaboration between the two sides in over 40 fields in the coming years, according to a statement published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, citing Wang's comments after attending the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur on Friday. Wang also said the two sides agreed to strive to complete consultations next year on a code of conduct in the South China Sea - a set of guidelines aiming to manage disputes in the region, where Beijing and several Asean members have overlapping maritime claims. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday he had "positive and constructive" talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, as the two major powers vied to push their agendas in Asia at a time of tension over Washington's tariff offensive. The top US diplomat was in Malaysia on his first Asia trip since taking office, seeking to stress the US commitment to the region at the East Asia Summit and Asean Regional Forum, where many countries were reeling from a raft of steep U.S. tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump this week. Rubio also had his first in-person talks with China's foreign minister, which came after Beijing warned Washington against reinstating hefty levies on its goods next month and threatened retaliation against nations that strike deals with the US to cut China out of supply chains. (Reporting by Shanghai and Beijing Newsrooms; Editing by William Mallard) - Reuters
The Star
17 hours ago
- The Star
Some Walmart garment orders from Bangladesh on hold due to US tariff threat
FILE PHOTO: A Walmart store is shown in Oceanside, California, U.S., May 15, 2025. Dhaka-based garment factory owner said an importer with whom he was negotiating a spring 2026 order of trousers for Walmart asked him to wait a week before the order would be confirmed due to the tariff risk. - Reuters LONDON/NEW YORK: Suppliers to Walmart have delayed or put on hold some orders from garment manufacturers in Bangladesh, according to three factory owners and correspondence from a supplier seen by Reuters, as US President Donald Trump's threat of a 35 per cent tariff on the textile hub disrupts business. Bangladesh is the third-largest exporter of apparel to the United States, and it relies on the garment sector for 80 per cent of its export earnings and ten per cent of its GDP. The factory owners all said they expected orders to fall if the August 1 tariffs go into effect, as they are unable to absorb that 35 per cent rate. Iqbal Hossain, managing director of garment manufacturer Patriot Eco Apparel Ltd, told Reuters an order for nearly one million swim shorts for Walmart was put on hold on Thursday (July 10) due to the tariff threat. "As we discussed please hold all below Spring season orders we are discussing here due to heavy Tariff per cent imposed for USA imports," Faruk Saikat, assistant merchandising manager at Classic Fashion, wrote in an email to Hossain and others seen by Reuters. Classic Fashion is a supplier and buying agent that places orders for retailers. "As per our management instruction we are holding Bangladesh production for time being and IN case Tariff issues settled then we will continue as we planned here." The hold was not decided by Walmart, Saikat told Reuters, but by Classic Fashion itself. Walmart did not respond to a request for comment. Bangladesh is currently in talks with the United States in Washington to try to negotiate a lower tariff. Trump in recent days has revived threats of higher levies on numerous nations. "If the 35 per cent tariff remains for Bangladesh, that will be very tough to sustain, honestly speaking, and there will not be as many orders as we have now," said Mohiuddin Rubel, managing director at jeans manufacturer Denim Expert Ltd in Dhaka. Rubel, whose company produces jeans for H&M and other retailers, said he expects clients will ask him to absorb part of the tariff, but added this would not be possible financially. Manufacturers have already absorbed part of the blanket ten per cent tariff imposed by the US on April 2. "Only probably the big, big companies can a little bit sustain (tariffs) but not the small and medium companies," he said. Retailers have front-loaded orders since Trump returned to the White House, anticipating higher tariffs. Jeans maker Levi's, which imports from Bangladesh, said on Thursday it has 60 per cent of the inventory it needs for the rest of 2025. US clothing imports from Bangladesh totaled US$3.38 billion in the first five months of 2025, up 21 per cent from the year-earlier period, according to US International Trade Commission data. Another Dhaka-based garment factory owner said an importer with whom he was negotiating a spring 2026 order of trousers for Walmart asked him on Thursday to wait a week before the order would be confirmed due to the tariff risk. Hossain said he may look for more orders from European clients to make up for lost orders if the US 35 per cent tariff gets implemented, even if he has to cut prices to stimulate demand. - Reuters
