Financial Times: UAE expands influence in Washington through $270M lobbying push and sovereign investments
LONDON, Aug. 12 (YPA) – A Financial Times investigation revealed how the UAE has used its $1.7 trillion sovereign wealth arsenal to build a powerful Washington influence network, securing critical advantages in the US tech and defense sectors, while largely sidestepping scrutiny over national security and human rights concerns.
The investigation reported that Emirati funds have flowed heavily into ventures linked to US President Donald Trump’s family.
Emirati investment firm MGX acquired a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial and invested $2 billion in its stablecoin, while the Aqua 1 Foundation invested roughly $100 million in its digital tokens.
The Trump administration subsequently granted the UAE access to advanced US computing chips—a development Democratic Representative Yassamin Ansari described as “one of the clearest corruption networks in American history.”
According to OpenSecrets data, the UAE has spent more than $270 million on US lobbying over the past decade, making it one of the largest foreign spenders in Washington. It has also funded prominent think tanks, including the Atlantic Council, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and the RAND Corporation.
The investigation noted that the signing of the 2020 Abraham Accords provided Abu Dhabi with a key political opening to the Trump administration.
Emirati investments subsequently expanded beyond traditional sectors into critical areas of the artificial intelligence and semiconductor industries through major sovereign funds—such as Mubadala and MGX—and strategic partnerships with companies including OpenAI, xAI, Microsoft, and Nvidia.
Sidestepping Controversial Issues
The investigation found that the UAE’s growing influence has helped it weather scrutiny over several contentious issues, including allegations that it has supported Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
It also cited analysis showing that the UAE ranks second only to China in the number of entities and individuals subject to US sanctions targeting Iran, accounting for 22% of the total.
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen warned that the UAE’s influence in Washington has grown beyond what any foreign country should hold, enabling Abu Dhabi to avoid accountability for actions and practices that other nations could not escape.
@E.Y.M