Hassan Maishera
Guren “Bobby” Zhou, the businessman reportedly behind Aqua 1’s $100 million purchase of World Liberty Financial governance tokens, was arrested in Britain in 2021 on suspicion of money laundering.
Zhou has not been charged with a crime. However, he remains connected to an active investigation, The New York Times reported following a review of court records, confidential documents, and interviews with his former associates.
A British court filing submitted last November alleged that Zhou participated with five other people in a money laundering operation dating back to 2019. Two of his longtime employees were charged in September, while one defendant has pleaded guilty. The trial for the charged defendants is scheduled for 2028.
Zhou Reportedly Behind Aqua 1’s $100 Million WLFI Deal
Reuters previously identified Zhou as the businessman behind Aqua 1, a little-known investment fund based in the United Arab Emirates.
In June 2025, Aqua 1 purchased $100 million worth of governance tokens issued by World Liberty Financial, the Trump family-linked cryptocurrency venture. The transaction made Aqua 1 one of the project’s largest publicly known token buyers.
The investment attracted scrutiny because relatively little was known about Aqua 1, its financial backers, or the origins of the capital used for the purchase.
According to the Times, Zhou’s financial position appeared to change significantly after he relocated from London to Abu Dhabi in 2024.
Before his involvement with Aqua 1, Zhou operated a British flooring retailer that entered restructuring without repaying approximately $5 million owed to his father’s company, the Times reported.
He later launched Caduceus, a cryptocurrency project that reportedly spent about $7.6 million in funding. Its token had become effectively worthless by 2024.
Caduceus had announced support from China Merchants Securities UK and the Bin Zayed Group, an organization founded by a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family.
However, both organizations told the Times that claims regarding their involvement with Caduceus were unauthorized and materially false.
After moving to the UAE, Zhou led Web3Port, a cryptocurrency venture fund that announced a $10 million investment in World Liberty Financial shortly after Donald Trump’s January 2025 inauguration.
The Times reported that a Web3Port entity registered in the British Virgin Islands later changed its name to Aqua 1 GP Limited. Aqua 1 announced the $100 million WLFI purchase two weeks after the name change.
Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham reportedly found that a wallet controlled by Web3Port purchased $20 million in WLFI tokens in January 2025. A second wallet believed to be controlled by Aqua 1 bought another $80 million in June.
Together, the transactions accounted for the $100 million investment attributed to Aqua 1.
Aqua 1 had previously denied being connected to Web3Port after an earlier report linked the organizations. However, the fund did not specify which details of that report it disputed.
Source of Aqua 1’s $100 Million Remains Unknown
The Times said it could not determine where the $100 million used to purchase the WLFI tokens originated.
Questions about the source of the money are particularly significant because of World Liberty Financial’s revenue-sharing structure. According to the report, as much as $75 million from Aqua 1’s purchase was distributed to a company controlled by Trump and his sons.
The transaction also reportedly benefited the family of World Liberty co-founder Zach Witkoff. His father, Steve Witkoff, serves as a special envoy in the Trump administration.
Previous reporting showed that 75% of the proceeds from WLFI token sales flow to DT Marks DEFI LLC, an entity controlled by Trump.
Trump’s latest financial disclosure listed more than $65.6 million in proceeds from selling an equity stake in WLF Holdco and $236.25 million in distributed World Liberty token-sale revenue.
World Liberty Denies Compliance Failures
World Liberty spokesperson David Wachsman told the Times that the company complied with all applicable laws and regulations.
Wachsman said World Liberty maintains a compliance program that meets or exceeds industry standards. However, he declined to disclose whether the company knew the original source of Zhou’s funds.
He also challenged the Times’ characterization of Zhou but did not identify specific factual inaccuracies in the report.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told the newspaper that Trump had no conflicts of interest. Zhou did not respond to the Times’ requests for comment.
Zhou has not been charged, and the allegations contained in the British court filing have not resulted in a conviction against him.
Nevertheless, his reported connection to an active money laundering investigation and the unresolved origin of Aqua 1’s $100 million have intensified scrutiny of one of World Liberty Financial’s biggest token purchases.
The case also raises broader questions about transparency, investor due diligence, and the flow of funds into cryptocurrency projects connected to politically prominent individuals.
