Democrats Ask Treasury for Suspicious Activity Reports Tied to Trump’s Crypto Projects

Highlights:

• Democratic lawmakers demand suspicious activity reports on Trump’s crypto firm and related entities.
• Concerns grow over foreign investors’ influence in Trump-backed World Liberty Financial token sales.
• New MEME Act aims to stop federal officials and families from profiting from crypto.

Democratic lawmakers have started a new investigation into former President Donald Trump’s increasing involvement in the cryptocurrency industry. As part of the probe, on May 14, representatives Gerald Connolly, Joseph Morelle, and Jamie Raskin asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to release all suspicious activity reports (SARs) and detailed financial information linked to the Trump family’s crypto firm, World Liberty Financial (WLF), and Donald Trump-branded meme coins.

NEW TODAY: Oversight Dems, @HouseJudiciary, and @HouseAdm_Dems are demanding the Treasury Dept turn over Suspicious Activity Reports on these organizations to investigate election fraud & corruption.

Democrats are fighting to protect the integrity of our govt and our elections. pic.twitter.com/H84miZjBbL

— Oversight Committee Democrats (@OversightDems) May 14, 2025

Lawmakers Seek Reports to Investigate Possible Financial Misconduct

In the U.S., banks and financial institutions are required to file SARs with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a branch of the Treasury Department, when they detect suspicious activity, such as possible money laundering or fraud.

The lawmakers also asked for SARs that mention WinRed, WLF, TRUMP, MELANIA, America PAC, Elon Musk, political action committees (PACs), Justin Sun, and several other people and groups. They gave the Treasury a deadline of May 30 to respond. The lawmakers said their goal is to find out if new laws are needed to stop possible violations of rules about campaign funding, bribery, investing, and corruption. “We must guard against financial misconduct connected to current or prospective federal officials,” the letter reads.

In the letter, the lawmakers say that World Liberty Financial might be used to let foreign investors have too much influence. This is because some of its WLF sales were made to foreign investors, and Democrats say these investors face fewer rules than investors in the United States. Justin Sun invested heavily in World Liberty Financial. After his move, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) paused its lawsuit accusing him of breaking securities laws, raising concerns.

Lawmakers also expressed concerns about WLF’s USD1 token used in a $2 billion deal with Binance. They also say Trump-backed crypto’s link with global firms needs more review. Trump’s token is also facing criticism. Lawmakers argue that hidden buyer identities allow bad actors to secretly purchase the coin and gain Trump’s favor. Moreover, they are also asking for SARs about WinRed, Elon Musk’s super PAC that gave $250 million to Trump’s campaign, and two other PACs. 

Trump’s Crypto Links Under Fire

This is the latest Democratic push to examine Trump’s crypto ties. On May 9, senators raised concerns about his ties to Binance and possible conflicts of interest.

According to Bloomberg, U.S. Democratic senators have asked the Treasury and DOJ to clarify whether Binance is linked to the Trump family, citing concerns over USD1 being used to fund Abu Dhabi’s $2B investment in Binance. They also questioned Binance’s continued U.S. operations…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) May 9, 2025

Last week, Senate Democrats introduced the MEME Act to prevent federal officials including Trump and his family from profiting from crypto ventures. Unveiled by Senator Chris Murphy on May 6, the bill would ban top officials and their families from creating or promoting digital assets. Trump said he wants the U.S. to lead the world in crypto. He said the U.S. is far ahead of China in crypto and suggested making Bitcoin a national reserve.