Aqua 1 Links to Money Laundering Investigation Amid WLFI Token Purchase

Guren 'Bobby' Zhou, a businessman linked to an ongoing money laundering investigation in the UK, was involved in the $100 million purchase of World Liberty Financial (WLFI) tokens by Aqua 1. The transaction occurred in June 2025 and made WLFI one of the largest known buyers of its governance token.

Zhou has not been charged with a crime but was arrested in 2021 on suspicion of money laundering. Court records link him to an alleged scheme dating back to 2019, which involved five other people.

Before his involvement with Aqua 1, Zhou ran a British flooring retailer that underwent restructuring without repaying $5 million owed to his father's company. He later launched the crypto project Caduceus, whose token became virtually worthless by 2024 after raising about $7.6 million in funding.

The source of the $100 million used for the WLFI purchase remains unclear. However, under World Liberty's revenue-sharing arrangement, up to $75 million from the transaction may have gone to a company controlled by Donald Trump and his sons.