Abu Dhabi · United Kingdom · New York · The Block
World Liberty received $100 million from businessman investigated for money laundering: NYT
Compiled by KHAO Editorial — aggregated from 1 source + 4 references discovered via search. See llms.txt for citation guidance.
★ Tier-1 Source
Guren "Bobby" Zhou, the businessman behind Aqua 1's $100 million purchase of World Liberty Financial (WLFI) governance tokens, was arrested in Britain in 2021 on suspicion of money laundering and remains connected to an active investigation, The New York Times reported Sunday.
Key facts
- Blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence determined that a wallet controlled by Web3Port bought $20 million of WLFI in January 2025 and that a second wallet likely controlled by Aqua 1 purchased
- Guren "Bobby" Zhou, the businessman behind Aqua 1's $100 million purchase of World Liberty Financial (WLFI) governance tokens, was arrested in Britain in 2021 on suspicion of money laundering
- After relocating to the UAE, Zhou led Web3Port, a crypto venture fund that announced a $10 million World Liberty investment shortly after Trump's January 2025 inauguration
- Two weeks after the name change, Aqua 1 announced the $100 million WLFI purchase
Summary
Zhou has not been charged. Reuters first identified Zhou as the person behind Aqua 1, the Times noted. The Times, through a review of court records, confidential documents and interviews with Zhou's former associates, found a history of failed ventures, disputed claims of prominent backers, and a sudden change in Zhou's fortune after he moved from London to Abu Dhabi in 2024. Zhou previously ran a British flooring retailer that entered restructuring without repaying about $5 million owed to his father's company, according to the Times.