RUSS BUETTNER2026年8月11日During the World Cup soccer final in New Jersey last month, Zach Witkoff, co-founder of President Trump’s cryptocurrency company, took in the action from a luxury suite. Joining him was a man who had made the president, and all the company’s co-founders, much richer.上个月，在新泽西州举行的世界杯决赛上，特朗普总统的加密货币公司的联合创始人扎克·维特科夫在一个豪华包厢里观赛。一同观赛的还有一名男子，此人给总统及该公司的所有联合创始人带来了巨额财富。Two years earlier, the man, Guren “Bobby” Zhou, was a failed hardwood flooring retailer in Britain who had come under investigation there for money laundering and presided over the collapse of a small crypto start-up.两年前，这个名叫周谷仁（音，英文名鲍比）的男子还是英国一名生意失败的硬木地板零售商，并因涉嫌洗钱而在那里受到调查；他掌管过一家最终导播的小型加密货币初创公司。Then seemingly out of nowhere, he became one of the biggest buyers of tokens from Mr. Trump’s company, World Liberty Financial, dropping a total of $100 million through a new firm called Aqua 1. He kept quiet about it for months, other than speaking briefly as “Mr. Bobby” from Aqua 1 during a little-noticed audio stream on X.然后，他仿佛凭空冒出，摇身一变成为特朗普“世界自由金融”代币的最大买家之一，通过一家名为Aqua 1的新公司累计投入1亿美元。数月时间里，他始终保持低调，仅在一次几乎无人关注的X平台音频直播中，以Aqua 1的“鲍比先生”身份简短发言。“We’re very proud to be a major player in the World Liberty, which is Trump’s family’s crypto venture,” he said.“我们非常自豪能够成为“世界自由”的重要参与者，这是特朗普家族的加密企业，”他说。Under World Liberty policy, as much as $75 million of that money was distributed to a company controlled by the president and his three sons. The money also benefited the family of Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration’s special peace envoy and the father of Zach Witkoff.按照世界自由金融的规定，这笔资金中多达7500万美元被分配给了由总统及其三个儿子控制的一家公司。这笔钱也让史蒂夫·维特科夫的家族受益，他是特朗普政府的和平特使，也是扎克·维特科夫的父亲。In any prior era, a windfall for the president of that size from a foreigner with no public signs of access to that level of wealth would have certainly gone against norms and might have spawned a congressional investigation.在以往任何一个时代，一位并无公开证据显示拥有如此雄厚财力的外国人向美国总统奉上如此巨额的资金必然会被认为有违政治惯例，甚至可能招致国会调查。Instead, the curious case of Mr. Zhou illustrates the ease with which buyers with unknown backgrounds and motivations can use the anonymity of cryptocurrency to shower Mr. Trump with money. The president’s recent financial disclosure form shows that he collected $1.4 billion from his crypto businesses last year, the majority of it from anonymous sources.然而，周谷仁这个扑朔迷离的案例恰恰揭示出，来路不明、动机不清的买家利用加密货币的匿名性向特朗普大量输送金钱是多么轻而易举。总统最近公布的财务披露报告显示，他去年从旗下加密货币业务获得14亿美元收入，其中大部分来自匿名来源。It is not clear how closely World Liberty scrutinized Mr. Zhou’s past, but the money laundering investigation in England was publicly available information, as were portions of Mr. Zhou’s troubled business history.目前尚不清楚世界自由金融公司对周谷仁的背景查得有多深，但英国洗钱调查是公开可查的信息，周谷仁问题重重的商业履历也有部分内容可以公开查到。A court record filed last November accuses Mr. Zhou of participating with five other people in a money laundering effort beginning in 2019. Mr. Zhou has not been charged. British officials said late last month that their investigation remained active.去年11月提交的一份法院记录指控周谷仁从2019年开始与另外五人参与洗钱活动。不过，他目前尚未被起诉。英国官员上月底表示，调查仍在进行中。His transaction with World Liberty raises questions as to how he was able to access so much money, and how fully the company followed anti-money laundering laws. Such laws require businesses, in certain situations, to document the source of their customers’ funds before accepting the money.他与世界自由金融的这笔交易引发了一系列疑问：他是如何获得如此巨额资金的？世界自由金融是否切实遵守了反洗钱法律？根据相关法律，在某些情况下，企业在接受客户资金之前必须记录这些资金的来源。Patrick Prinz, the chief operating officer of Recoveris, a Switzerland-based firm that investigates digital asset crimes, said a combination of the red flags described to him by The New York Times should have triggered the documentation requirement: Mr. Zhou’s business failures, his sudden access to wealth, the size of the transaction and the investigation.总部位于瑞士、专门调查数字资产犯罪的Recoveris公司首席运营官帕特里克·普林茨表示，《纽约时报》向他描述的多重危险信号——周谷仁的商业失败经历、突然获得巨额财富、交易规模之大以及他正在接受调查这一事实——本应触发上述记录要求。David Wachsman, a spokesman for World Liberty, said in a statement that the company had followed all applicable laws and regulations. “World Liberty maintains a compliance program that meets or exceeds industry standards,” he said.世界自由金融公司的发言人戴维·瓦克斯曼在一份声明中表示，公司已遵守所有适用法律法规。“世界自由金融建立了一套符合或超越行业标准的合规体系，”他说。周谷仁成立了一家公司，向特朗普总统的主要加密货币业务“世界自由金融”支付了1亿美元。Mr. Wachsman declined to say whether the company was aware of the source of the funds used in the purchase. He said the company disputed The Times’s “characterization of Mr. Zhou,” but did not cite any specifics.瓦克斯曼拒绝透露该公司是否知晓这笔购币资金的来源。他表示，公司不同意《纽约时报》对“周先生的描述”，但未作具体说明。A White House spokeswoman, Anna Kelly, said Mr. Trump had no conflicts of interest and “only acts in the best interests of the American public.”白宫发言人安娜·凯利表示，特朗普不存在任何利益冲突，且“只以美国公众的最大利益行事”。Mr. Zhou did not respond to numerous messages to him and his company. Reuters first identified Mr. Zhou as the person behind Aqua 1.周谷仁本人及其公司均未回应《纽约时报》的多次联系。路透社此前率先披露了他就是Aqua 1背后掌舵人的身份。Even now the source of the money that Mr. Zhou paid to World Liberty remains a mystery.时至今日，周谷仁支付给世界自由金融的这笔资金的真实来源仍是一个谜。But a deep examination of his career by The Times — through dozens of interviews with former associates, reviews of confidential documents and an analysis of court records and other publicly available information — shows a curious arc. A man who seemed to be constantly asking for money from others had a significant change in fortune just after his crypto company burned through $7.6 million and he decamped from London to the United Arab Emirates in the summer of 2024.但通过对前同事的数十次采访、对机密文件的审查以及对法院记录和其他公开信息的分析，《纽约时报》对周谷仁职业生涯的深入调查展现了一个离奇的轨迹。就在他的加密公司烧掉760万美元、他于2024年夏天离开伦敦移居阿联酋之后，这个曾经似乎一直在向别人借钱的人财运发生了戏剧性的转变。Many former associates would speak only on the condition of anonymity because they feared being pulled into the investigation in England or worried about the risk of violating libel laws in the Emirates that make defamation a potential crime, even if true.许多前合作伙伴只愿在匿名条件下接受采访，因为不想卷入英国的调查，或顾虑阿联酋将诽谤罪入刑的法律——即便言论属实，也可能构成刑事犯罪。They describe Mr. Zhou as a high-octane charmer with a British accent, persuasive enough to sell ice in a snowstorm, as one said. But all were stunned to learn that after his departure from London, he was able to purchase $100 million in anything.他们将周谷仁描述为一个口才出众、魅力四射的人，带着一口英国口音，如其中一人所言，“厉害到能在暴风雪里卖冰块”。但当得知他离开伦敦后居然有本事斥资1亿美元做生意，所有人都目瞪口呆。Several business professionals told The Times that they had refused to get involved with Mr. Zhou after researching his background. World Liberty, on the other hand, welcomed his company with open arms.几名商业界人士告诉《纽约时报》，他们在调查过他的背景后，拒绝与其合作。相比之下，世界自由金融却敞开双臂欢迎他的公司。“We’re excited to work hand-in-hand with the team at Aqua 1,” said Zak Folkman, a co-founder of World Liberty Financial, in a statement on X.“我们很高兴能与Aqua 1团队携手合作，”世界自由金融的联合创始人扎克·福克曼在X平台发文表示。‘Overly Ambitious’“过于雄心勃勃”For most of his adult life, Mr. Zhou worked far from technology and high finance.在成年后的大部分时间里，周谷仁的工作与科技和高端金融都相去甚远。Raised in Shanghai, he moved to England in 2005 to attend graduate school. While living in student housing at the University of Lancashire, he launched a business to distribute hardwood flooring that his father milled back home.他在上海长大，2005年赴英攻读研究生。在兰开夏大学的学生宿舍里，他创办了一家企业，负责销售父亲在国内工厂生产的实木地板。He eventually took over a flooring factory in Italy, a small website and a chain of 20 retail stores. A photograph in a local newspaper of one store showed a small, corrugated steel structure with bright green signs declaring “YOU SAVE MORE.”后来，他接手了一家位于意大利的地板工厂、一家小网站以及一个拥有20家门店的零售连锁企业。一家当地报纸曾刊登过其中一家门店的照片：那是一座小型波纹钢结构建筑，外面挂着醒目的绿色招牌，上面写着“让你省更多”几个字。2016年，威尔士卡迪夫的一家Flooring Republic零售店。In 2017, he heard that economic development officials from Wales would be visiting Shanghai on a trade mission and arranged a meeting. Mr. Zhou, then 32, told the group that he planned to open a flooring store within 25 miles of every Welsh resident.2017年，周谷仁听说威尔士的经济发展官员将访问上海进行贸易考察，于是安排了一次会面。当时32岁的周谷仁告诉代表团，他计划让每位威尔士居民不出40公里就能找到一家他的地板店。“That struck me as perhaps overly ambitious and not really reflecting the way that Welsh life really works, in that we are quite a rural country,” said Ken Skates, then the minister of economic development for Wales.“这在我看来或许是过于雄心勃勃了，也没有真正反映威尔士人的生活方式——我们毕竟是一个相当农村的地方，”时任威尔士经济发展部长的肯·斯凯茨说。Mr. Zhou’s plan would not come about. A year after the meeting, he placed his companies in administration, the British equivalent of bankruptcy restructuring. He sold the stores during that process at no gain, without repaying the $5 million that his books showed he owed his father’s company, according to court records.周谷仁的计划未能实现。那次会面一年后，他让旗下公司进入破产管理程序。根据法院记录，他在此过程中出售了门店，但未获得任何收益，也未偿还账面上显示他欠父亲公司的500万美元。威尔士政府提供的一张照片显示，周谷仁于2017年在上海与包括经济发展部长肯·斯凯茨在内的威尔士官员会面。An associate recalled Mr. Zhou saying, before his company collapsed, that he would be receiving $10 million from a Chinese company. The money did not arrive, and the associate came to doubt the commitment was ever real.一名商业伙伴回忆说，在公司倒闭前，周谷仁曾说自己将从一家中国公司那里获得1000万美元。但这笔钱始终没有到账，这名商业伙伴后来开始怀疑，这个承诺从一开始就可能根本不是真的。But Mr. Zhou’s partner in the Italian factory, an American named Thomas Corey Lewis, still believes Mr. Zhou had important connections in China and extraordinary powers of persuasion.不过，周谷仁在意大利工厂的合伙人、美国人托马斯·科里·刘易斯，至今仍相信他在中国拥有重要的人脉，以及非凡的说服能力。“He had the intellectual capacity to sit down and convince a board of smart people to fund him,” Mr. Lewis said recently. “他有足够的聪明才智，能够坐下来说服一群聪明的董事会成员资助他，”刘易斯最近表示。About that time, Mr. Zhou lived in a modest 1,200-square-foot flat in Southampton, roughly a two-hour drive from London, records show. His wife and their young daughter had joined him from Shanghai. He played table tennis in a recreational league.记录显示，大约在那段时间，周谷仁住在南安普敦一套约110平方米的普通公寓里，距伦敦大约两小时车程。他的妻子和年幼的女儿从上海前来与他团聚。他参加了一个业余乒乓球联赛。周谷仁在英国南安普敦安顿下来后，于2019年参加了一场乒乓球比赛。During the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr. Zhou imported masks and tests from China, generating some income.在新冠疫情期间，周谷仁从中国进口口罩和检测试剂盒，获得了一些收入。In 2020, he told one local newspaper that he was a partner in a boutique investment firm and a managing director of a financial institution called Valens Bank.2020年，他告诉当地一家报纸，他是一家精品投资公司的合伙人，也是一家名为瓦伦斯银行的金融机构的董事总经理。Records show that the investment firm had one unidentified employee, with assets of less than $1 million, and went dormant two years later. Valens, a small institution based in Frankfurt, told The Times in an emailed statement that Mr. Zhou never held a position with the company but had been a minority shareholder.记录显示，这家投资公司仅有一名身份不明的员工，资产不足100万美元，并在两年后停止运营。瓦伦斯银行是一家总部位于法兰克福的小型机构，它在给《纽约时报》的电子邮件声明中表示，周谷仁从未在该公司任职，但曾是少数股东。Mr. Zhou also launched a family office, a form of lightly regulated firm that handles investments, and in some cases personal affairs, of wealthy families. The office drew just one client, a recent immigrant from Singapore named Ander Tsui. Mr. Zhou told associates that Mr. Tsui had made significant money as an early crypto investor.周谷仁还成立了一个家族办公室——一种监管较为宽松的投资管理公司，负责处理富裕家庭的投资事务，有时也处理个人事务。该办公室只吸引了一位客户——一位名叫安德·徐（音）的新加坡新移民。周谷仁曾向前同事称，安德·徐作为早期加密货币投资者赚取了可观收益。Mr. Tsui, who did not communicate in English, relied on Mr. Zhou to help him navigate life in London, former associates said.前合伙人表示，不会说英语的安德·徐依靠周谷仁的帮助来适应伦敦生活。The two began working together on a company they called Caduceus, with the goal of seizing on the latest craze in crypto.两人开始合作经营一家名为卡杜塞斯的公司，目标是抓住加密货币的最新热潮。‘Absolutely Unreal’ “简直难以置信”At a posh London nightclub in late 2021, Mr. Zhou danced in front of his investors and employees, waving a sign that read “Caduceus Xmas Party.” Servers chanted at him as they thrust champagne bottles strapped with sparklers above their heads.2021年底，在伦敦一家高档夜总会，周谷仁在投资者和员工面前起舞，挥舞着写有“卡杜塞斯圣诞派对”的标语牌。服务员将绑着烟花棒的香槟瓶举过头顶，向他欢呼。That came after dinner at a high-end Chinese restaurant and lunch at a private social club.此前，他们在一家高档中餐馆用了晚餐，并在一家私人社交俱乐部用了午餐。“Absolutely unreal,” one attendee wrote on Facebook with videos from the day.“简直难以置信，”一位与会者在Facebook上发布了当天的视频并写道。The splashy affair, and others like it, were part of Mr. Zhou’s marketing efforts to sell digital tokens to fund the Caduceus product: a tool for creating virtual “metaverses” where humans interact as avatars.这场盛大的活动以及其他类似活动是周谷仁营销策略的一部分，目的是销售数字代币，为卡杜塞斯的产品筹集资金：卡杜塞斯是一个创建虚拟“元宇宙”的工具，人类可以在其中以虚拟化身进行互动。To lure investors, Mr. Zhou issued a string of announcements claiming the support of well-financed companies.为了吸引投资者，周谷仁发布了一系列公告，声称获得了资金雄厚公司的支持。In February 2022, he took a group to the BRIT Awards, Britain’s biggest ceremony for popular music. Caduceus cosponsored an after-party on the Dixie Queen, a replica of a 19th-century paddle steamer that cruises the Thames. Mr. Zhou invited acquaintances, including an executive of China Merchant Securities (UK), the London subsidiary of a state-owned financial services firm in China.2022年2月，他带领一行人参加了英国最大的流行音乐颁奖典礼——全英音乐奖。卡杜塞斯联合赞助了在“南方女王号”上举行的庆功派对，这是一艘巡游泰晤士河的19世纪桨轮蒸汽船复制品。周谷仁邀请了熟人，包括中国招商证券（英国）公司的一位高管，该公司是中国一家国有金融服务公司在伦敦的子公司。周谷仁（左起第三位）与来自新加坡的加密货币投资者安德·徐（最右）一同出席了2022年英国音乐奖的庆功派对，该活动由他们共同创立的公司卡杜塞斯赞助。The following morning, Mr. Zhou issued a news release announcing that China Merchant Securities (UK) would form a $1 billion venture fund for projects based on Caduceus technology.第二天早上，周谷仁发布了一份新闻稿，宣布中国招商证券（英国）将成立一个10亿美元的风险投资基金，用于投资基于卡杜塞斯技术的项目。China Merchant Securities (UK) demanded that Mr. Zhou’s companies stop using its name, according to an email reviewed by The Times. But Mr. Zhou persisted.根据《纽约时报》查阅的一封电子邮件，中国招商证券（英国）要求周谷仁的公司停止使用其名称。但周谷仁并未理会。Michael Butler, head of compliance for China Merchants Securities (UK), told The Times in an email that the company was not involved in any such fund or in Caduceus. “The use of the firm’s name, and the listing of an individual as connected to the project, were unauthorized and materially false,” he wrote.中国招商证券（英国）合规负责人迈克尔·巴特勒在给《纽约时报》的电子邮件中表示，该公司未参与任何此类基金或卡杜塞斯项目。“使用公司名称以及将个人列为项目关联方，均属未经授权且存在重大虚假陈述，”他写道。On April 1, 2022, Mr. Zhou’s Caduceus announced another major supporter: the Bin Zayed Group, which was founded by Sheikh Khaled Zayed Saquer Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family. The announcement called the Bin Zayed Group a “lead investor” in a $4 million round of funding.2022年4月1日，周谷仁的卡杜塞斯宣布了另一位重要支持者：本·扎耶德集团，该集团由阿布扎比王室成员谢赫·哈立德·扎耶德·萨克尔·扎耶德·阿勒纳哈扬创立。公告称宾·扎耶德集团是400万美元融资轮的“领投方”。Caduceus marketing materials from that spring obtained by The Times listed Midhat Kidwai, a top executive with the Bin Zayed Group, as a member of Caduceus’s three-person advisory board.《纽约时报》获得的卡杜塞斯当年春季营销材料将宾·扎耶德集团的高管米德哈特·基德瓦伊列为卡杜塞斯三人顾问委员会成员。During a meeting with his small staff, Mr. Zhou told them to point out the involvement of the Bin Zayed Group to make investors “feel comfortable,” according to material reviewed by The Times.根据《纽约时报》查阅的材料，在与少数几名员工开会时，周谷仁告诉他们，要强调本·扎耶德集团的参与，让投资者“感到安心”。“Bin Zayed is definitely not stupid, right?” he said, in explaining why his staff members should mention the affiliation, according to the material.“本·扎耶德肯定不傻，对吧？”根据材料，他在解释员工为何应提及该关联时说。Mr. Kidwai told The Times that he had met Mr. Zhou socially in London, but had never entered into any business with him or with Caduceus.基德瓦伊告诉《纽约时报》，他在伦敦的社交场合认识了周谷仁，但从未与他或卡杜塞斯有过任何商业往来。“It appears Mr. Zhou’s representations to investors regarding our involvement were unauthorized and materially false,” a statement from the Bin Zayed Group said.“据目前了解，周先生向投资者做出的关于我们参与情况的陈述未经授权，且内容严重失实，”本·扎耶德集团在声明中表示。Mr. Zhou also announced that a British pop star would perform a virtual concert using Caduceus technology, that a cricket legend had signed with the company to release digital tokens and that a rugby Hall of Famer had joined his board.周谷仁还宣布，一位英国流行歌星将使用卡杜塞斯技术举办一场虚拟演唱会，一位板球传奇人物已与公司签约发行数字代币，一位橄榄球名人堂成员已加入其董事会。None of it came to fruition.这些计划无一实现。A spokeswoman for the rugby star, Lawrence Dallaglio, told The Times that her client did not associate with Mr. Zhou “after completing thorough due diligence.”橄榄球明星劳伦斯·达拉利奥的发言人告诉《纽约时报》，她的客户“在完成全面尽职调查后”未与周谷仁建立关联。The Caduceus token hit the market in June 2022. The price hit its all-time high of $2.24 on July 31, 2022. It plummeted to 22 cents three weeks later and continued a downward slide. It was effectively worthless by 2024.卡杜塞斯代币于2022年6月上市。价格在2022年7月31日达到2.24美元的历史高点。三周后暴跌至22美分，并继续下滑。到2024年，它实际上已一文不值。Investors would not get their money back. Instead of a salary, the company’s few employees had worked for options on Caduceus tokens that they would never be able to exercise. Some insiders — including Tim Bullman, the head of management — said they also had bought tokens and so lost additional money.投资者未能收回资金。公司为数不多的员工没有领薪水，而是以卡杜塞斯代币期权作为报酬，但他们永远无法行使这些期权。一些内部人士——包括管理层负责人蒂姆·布尔曼——表示他们也购买了代币，因此损失了更多资金。In January of this year, token holders were sent an email, which The Times obtained, saying that the $4 million from the initial funding round, plus $3.6 million from Mr. Tsui, were gone and the project was effectively dead.今年1月，代币持有者收到一封电子邮件（《纽约时报》已获取），称首轮融资中的400万美元加上安德·徐的360万美元已经耗尽，该项目实际上已死亡。Sara Enzen, whom Mr. Zhou hired to run a company called LightCycle in the Caduceus universe, said however much was spent, it did not go to creating a viable business.周谷仁聘来经营卡杜塞斯旗下LightCycle公司的萨拉·恩岑表示，无论花了多少钱，一个可持续的企业并没有能创建起来。“We had nothing to show for that money, apart from Bobby’s lifestyle,” she said.“除了鲍比的生活方式，我们拿不出什么东西能证明这些钱花得其所，”她说。A Sudden Fortune突如其来的财富In February 2024, an otherwise unremarkable judgment in an immigration case was posted to a court website in London.2024年2月，伦敦一家法院网站上公布了一项原本不起眼的移民案件判决。It said that the visa of a man named Guren Zhou had expired in 2018, and that his request to remain in the country had been denied for cause: He was among several people arrested in March 2021 on suspicion of money laundering. The court decision said prosecutors had not yet decided whether to charge him.判决称，一位名叫周谷仁的男子的签证已于2018年到期，他的留英请求因故被拒绝：他是2021年3月因涉嫌洗钱而被捕的几人之一。法院判决称，检方尚未决定是否起诉他。Not long after, Mr. Zhou packed up his wife and daughter, moved to Abu Dhabi, and started a new web of companies.不久之后，周谷仁携妻女移居阿布扎比，并开始建立一个新的公司网络。He created a business called Royal Privilege Group, with a mailing address at a shared office space, offering investment services and “bespoke experiences, enhancing well-being through elegance, indulgence and memorable moments,” according to its website.他创办了一家名为Royal Privilege Group的企业，邮寄地址设在一个共享办公空间，根据其网站介绍，该公司提供投资服务和“定制体验，通过优雅、奢华和难忘的时刻提升福祉”。The site showed some familiar faces from his London operation, but one new name hinted at access to sovereign wealth. Abubaker Al Khoori, the chief executive of the Abu Dhabi Capital Group, the family investment office of the brother of the Emirati president, was listed as a member of Mr. Zhou’s advisory board.网站上展示了一些他的伦敦企业的熟悉面孔，但一个新的名字暗示了与主权财富的联系。阿布扎比资本集团——阿联酋总统的兄弟的家族投资办公室——的首席执行官阿布巴克·阿尔·库里被列为顾问委员会成员。In response to questions from The Times, Mr. Al Khoori said he had been invited to join the board by a mutual acquaintance, but Royal Privilege Group did not exist long enough to accomplish anything. He added that neither he nor Abu Dhabi Capital Group had provided any funds to R.P.G.在回答《纽约时报》的提问时，阿尔·库里表示，他是通过一位共同熟人获邀加入董事会的，但Royal Privilege Group存在时间太短，没能做成任何事。他补充说，他和阿布扎比资本集团均未向RPG提供任何资金。About the same time, a company that Mr. Zhou led in the Emirates took on greater significance: Web3Port, a venture fund for crypto start-ups that claimed to be partly funded by Royal Privilege Group.大约在同一时间，周谷仁在阿联酋领导的一家公司变得更重要了：Web3Port，一家加密货币初创公司的风险投资基金，声称部分资金来自Royal Privilege Group。Web3Port’s first major announcement was a whopper. Days after Mr. Trump’s inauguration in January 2025, the company posted on X that it had made a $10 million investment in World Liberty and was planning more.Web3Port的第一项重大公告就令人震惊。2025年1月特朗普总统就职几天后，该公司在X上发帖称，已向世界自由金融公司投资1000万美元，并计划进一步投资。“Both sides are committed to building a ‘long-term partnership’ and exploring opportunities in investment, ecosystem development, and more,” the post said. “We’d also like to thank @realDonaldTrump for his crypto support!”“双方致力于建立‘长期合作伙伴关系’，并在投资、生态系统发展等方面探索机遇，”帖子写道。“我们还要感谢 @realDonaldTrump 对加密货币的支持！”But Web3Port had a problem lurking in the background.但Web3Port背后潜伏着一个问题。The company had been the market maker, which involves setting buy and sell prices, for the token offering of another crypto company, and its role had erupted into a scandal in the industry press. By that spring, federal prosecutors in Northern California had opened an investigation into the token offering, according to court records in a civil case filed in Delaware.该公司曾担任另一家加密货币公司代币发行的做市商，参与设定买卖价格，而其扮演的角色已在行业媒体中成为一桩丑闻。到那年春天，根据在特拉华州提起的一起民事诉讼中的法院记录，北加州联邦检察官已开始对此次代币发行展开调查。Whether it was related or not, a Web3Port entity filed for a name change in the British Virgin Islands. The new name would be Aqua 1 GP Limited.无论是否相关，Web3Port的一个实体在英属维尔京群岛申请了名称变更。新名称将是Aqua 1 GP Limited。Two weeks later, Aqua 1, an entity with no public history, announced it would buy $100 million worth of World Liberty tokens. There was no mention of Mr. Zhou or Web3Port.两周后，一个没有公开历史的实体Aqua 1宣布将购买价值1亿美元的World Liberty代币。公告中未提及周或Web3Port。“Aligning with Aqua 1 validates our blueprint for global financial innovation,” Mr. Folkman, the co-founder of World Liberty, was quoted as saying in the announcement.“与Aqua 1的合作验证了我们全球金融创新的蓝图，”公告引述世界自由金融联合创始人福克曼的话说。Arkham Intelligence, a blockchain analytics firm, eventually determined that a wallet controlled by Web3Port had purchased $20 million worth of World Liberty tokens in January and a second wallet likely controlled by Aqua 1 had purchased $80 million in June. Arkham, which added the analysis to its website, did not respond to requests for an explanation as to how it had drawn the connection.区块链分析公司Arkham Intelligence最终确定，Web3Port控制的一个钱包在1月购买了价值2000万美元的世界自由金融代币，而可能由Aqua 1控制的第二个钱包在6月份购买了8000万美元。Arkham在其网站上添加了这一分析，但未回应关于如何得出这一关联的说明请求。There is some outside evidence to support Arkham’s analysis. One of the wallets it identified as controlled by Web3Port had appeared in an email from Web3Port that was obtained by CoinDesk, a crypto news site. Whoever created the wallet that Arkham linked to Aqua 1 attached the label “aqua1” to it.有一些外部证据支持Arkham的分析。加密货币新闻网站CoinDesk获取了一封Web3Port的电子邮件，其中出现了被Arkham确认为由Web3Port控制的那个钱包。至于被Arkham关联到Aqua 1的那个钱包，创建者添加的标签就是“aqua1”。Beyond the issues raised by Mr. Zhou’s history, the involvement of the Trump family would typically trigger “the highest level of regulatory scrutiny available in the financial system,” said Mr. Prinz, of Recoveris. That is because international anti-money laundering laws classify the Trumps as “politically exposed persons” with a heightened vulnerability to influence peddling, he said.Recoveris的普林茨表示，除了周谷仁过往历史引发的问题外，特朗普家族的参与通常会触发“金融体系中最高级别的监管审查”。他说这是因为国际反洗钱法律将特朗普家族归类为“政治公众人物”，这类人物更容易成为影响力兜售的目标。‘Demonstrable Credibility’“毋庸置疑的信誉”Last September, about 90 days after the World Liberty announcement, two of Mr. Zhou’s longtime employees, including a woman who had handled paying his companies’ bills for a decade, were charged in the money laundering case in London. Another defendant, speaking to a Times reporter in a courthouse hall after a hearing last month, said he had worked with Mr. Zhou during the pandemic selling masks and Covid tests.去年9月，即世界自由金融公告发布约90天后，周谷仁的两名长期员工在伦敦的洗钱案中被起诉，其中一名女性十年来负责支付公司账单的女性。另一名被告在上月听证会后在法院大堂对《纽约时报》记者表示，他曾在疫情期间与周谷仁合作销售口罩和新冠检测试剂盒。Mr. Zhou, who had already left Britain, is the only one out of six people identified in the indictment who has not been charged. One defendant has pleaded guilty, according to court officials. Further details of the allegations have not been released. It is not clear whether prosecutors will seek Mr. Zhou’s extradition. A trial for the charged defendants is scheduled for 2028.已经离开英国的周谷仁是起诉书中明确身份的六人中唯一未被起诉的。法院官员称，一名被告已认罪。指控的进一步细节尚未公布。目前尚不清楚检方是否会寻求引渡周谷仁。被起诉被告的审判定于2028年进行。Mr. Zhou, meanwhile, issued more announcements, using his connections to the Trumps as a marketing point.与此同时，周谷仁利用他与特朗普家族的关系作为营销亮点，发布了更多公告。In September, Aqua 1 announced it had invested $20 million in a Canadian food ingredients company that was merging with a U.A.E.-based cryptocurrency company. The crypto company claims access to $1.3 billion in “sovereign wealth assets.” The announcement said Aqua 1 had “demonstrable credibility” as the largest investor in World Liberty.9月，Aqua 1宣布已向一家加拿大食品配料公司投资2000万美元，该公司正与一家总部位于阿联酋的加密货币公司合并。这家加密货币公司声称拥有13亿美元的“主权财富资产”。公告称，Aqua 1作为世界自由金融公司的最大投资者，拥有“毋庸置疑的信誉”。It is not clear that investment happened, as the merger stalled.目前尚不清楚该投资是否真的发生了，因为合并没能进行下去。In October, Mr. Zhou appeared as the chief executive of Aqua Labs, a new umbrella name for his companies, to give the opening speech at a crypto conference in Dubai.10月，周谷仁以Aqua Labs（其公司的新总称）首席执行官的身份在迪拜的一次加密货币会议上发表开幕演讲。He presented yet another new entity as a tool for trading World Liberty’s stablecoin, which is called USD1. A large image on the stage showed Mr. Trump and his three sons under the words, “The Power behind USD1” and noted that World Liberty “has both political and compliance support. USD1 is backed by the Trump family foundation WLFI.”他推出了又一个新实体，作为交易世界自由金融稳定币USD1的工具。舞台上的一幅大型图像展示了特朗普和他的三个儿子，上方写着“USD1背后的力量”，并注明世界自由金融公司“拥有政治和合规双重支持。USD1由特朗普家族基金会WLFI支持”。And in February, Mr. Zhou’s companies issued a news release announcing that Wesley K. Clark, a retired American general and former NATO supreme allied commander, would appear at an event in Abu Dhabi with Aqua Labs. The announcement called Mr. Zhou’s company “one of the largest strategic investors in the space, including a $100M investment in the governance tokens of Trump-backed World Liberty Financial.”今年2月，周谷仁的公司发布了一份新闻稿，宣布美国退役将领、前北约盟军最高司令韦斯利·克拉克将出席Aqua Labs在阿布扎比的一场活动。公告称周谷仁的公司是“该领域最大的战略投资者之一，包括在特朗普支持的世界自由金融治理代币中投资了1亿美元。”Mr. Zhou spoke at the event. General Clark said he did not.周谷仁在活动中发表了讲话。克拉克没有。周谷仁2月在阿布扎比出席了一场由Aqua Labs主办的会议并发表讲话，Aqua Labs是他旗下各公司的新统称。General Clark said in an interview with The Times that his office had been approached about becoming involved in Mr. Zhou’s company, but that he had declined after his team learned of the money laundering investigation.克拉克在接受《纽约时报》采访时表示，曾有人联系他的办公室讨论参与周谷仁公司的事宜，但在他的团队得知洗钱调查后，他拒绝了。“We did a background search on him,” General Clark said, adding that his team then told Mr. Zhou’s representatives, “We’re not going to speak with you.”“我们对他进行了背景调查，”克拉克说，并补充说他的团队随后告诉周谷仁的代表：“我们不打算与你们交谈。”Jane Bradley、傅才徳(Michael Forsythe)、Bradley Hope、Flávia Milhorance和Natan Odenheimer对本文有报道贡献。Russ Buettner是一名调查记者，曾就唐纳德·J·特朗普的财务状况撰写过大量报道。翻译：纽约时报中文网点击查看本文英文版。