NYT says $100M WLFI buyer remains under UK money laundering investigation

The New York Times reported Guren Bobby Zhou, a businessman linked to the purchase of $100 million worth of WLFI governance tokens from the Trump family’s DeFi project World Liberty Financial, was arrested in the UK in 2021 on money laundering allegations and remains under investigation by authorities. According to the report, Zhou was not charged after the arrest, but the UK investigation is still ongoing. The New York Times said Zhou is the figure behind UAE-based crypto fund Aqua 1, formerly Web3Port, which bought $100 million worth of WLFI, the largest known WLFI token purchase. The report added the source of the $100 million used for the WLFI purchase is unclear. Zhou previously ran a flooring retailer in the UK but entered bankruptcy proceedings without repaying $5 million in debt, according to the report. The New York Times also said Zhou founded the crypto project Caduceus, whose token is now worth close to zero, and later moved to the UAE to lead Web3Port before investing $100 million in World Liberty last year through a token purchase.