TechFlow News, February 27: According to Decrypt, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and Jonathan Gould, Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), engaged in a heated exchange during a Senate Banking Committee hearing regarding World Liberty Financial’s (WLFI) application for a national trust bank charter.
Warren called the application “the most egregious” presidential corruption scandal, noting that an investment vehicle linked to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE National Security Advisor, invested $500 million in WLFI four days before President Trump’s inauguration—acquiring a 49% equity stake, with approximately $187 million flowing to Trump-family entities. Warren urged Gould to reject or pause review of the application, warning that approval would make the OCC “an accomplice to corruption.” Gould refused to intervene, stating the application would be processed according to standard procedures, and countered that the only political pressure he felt came from Warren. Previously, 41 House Democrats had written to the Treasury Secretary, cautioning that approving the charter could jeopardize “the legitimacy of the U.S. banking system and its independence from foreign actors.”
