An investigation found Trump’s crypto venture partnered with a firm that had ties to Cambodia’s Prince Group, a sanctioned transnational fraud network.

World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the cryptocurrency venture co-founded by the Trump family, partnered with a Southeast Asian blockchain project that had ties to a U.S.-sanctioned transnational crime network, according to an investigation by The Times. The revelation adds to mounting questions about the venture’s due diligence and governance.

The partner, AB DAO, had until weeks before the deal been promoting a resort project connected to figures associated with Cambodia’s Prince Group. U.S. and British authorities sanctioned Prince Group founder Chen Zhi and his associates in November for alleged involvement in a massive online fraud operation. The U.S. government seized $15 billion worth of bitcoin from Chen. Authorities describe the Prince Group as part of an illicit industry that steals tens of billions of dollars annually, operating scam compounds out of converted hotels, office parks, and casinos across Southeast Asia.

This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.

The partnership was announced shortly after the sanctions were imposed. World Liberty integrated AB DAO with its USD1 stablecoin platform. A spokesperson for WLFI said the company conducted due diligence and has no relationship with sanctioned individuals, but The Times found that the venture was unaware of AB DAO’s prior promotion of the Prince Group-linked resort when it signed the deal.

The episode follows a pattern of scrutiny around World Liberty Financial’s relationships. Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Maxine Waters have previously called for investigations into WLFI over alleged sales of tokens to sanctioned entities tied to Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The venture also drew criticism earlier this year when a $500 million deal gave a UAE-backed firm a 49% stake in the company shortly before Trump returned to office.

There is no suggestion that WLFI had direct knowledge of or involvement with the Prince Group. But for a venture with the president’s name on it, the gap between what its partners were doing and what WLFI knew about it raises uncomfortable questions about how carefully the company vets its deals.