Project Raven, 2019 The
Central Intelligence Agency of the United States was condemned for spying on all nations in the Arab world and Middle East region, except the UAE, despite the Gulf nation having hired former CIA officials for its
Project Raven to spy on political targets, including several Americans in 2014. Sheikh Tahnoun was the Deputy National Security Advisor of UAE at the time. Multiple ex-CIA officials told Reuters that the agency does not gather "human intelligence" from the UAE informant because it shares common enemies with the United States. Retired CIA official "Norman Roule" defended the US for not spying on the Emirates, stating that the actions committed by Abu Dhabi have "contributed to the war on terror, particularly against Al-Qaeda in Yemen|al-Queda [Qaeda] in Yemen."
Violation of EU sanctions against Assad, 2020 In August 2020,
The Wall Street Journal reported about the
Donald Trump administration of imposing sanctions against the government of Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad, targeting financial-support networks aiding the President from outside the country, to coerce
Damascus into peace talks. According to financial records reviewed by
The Wall Street Journal, Sheikh Tahnoun deposited about $200,000 into the bank accounts held by the niece of Syrian President Assad,
Aniseh Shawkat, over a period of several years as her sponsor. The UK authorities seized several of these bank accounts in 2019, claiming that hundreds of thousands of dollars deposited into her accounts helped circumvent
European Union’s sanctions against the Syrian government funds. Sheikh Tahnoun, Aniseh Shawkat and her attorney Zubair Ahmad did not respond when reached out for comment.
Re-selling COVID-19 vaccines, 2021 Sheik Tahnoun runs the Royal Group, which is a UAE
conglomerate. In 2021, the company was involved in controversial deals to re-sell Russia's
Sputnik vaccine to poor countries at substantial mark-ups.
Qatargate scandal, 2022 In December 2022, Qatar denied its involvement in the
Qatargate bribery case and accused the UAE of orchestrating the scandal. According to European Union correspondent Jack Parrock Qatari government officials believe that the scandal against Qatar has been planned by the UAE. The Italian news site Dagospia alleged that it was Tahnoun who executed the scandal against Qatar and provided tips to Belgium, which opened the investigation.
Abu Dhabi Secrets, 2023 In 2023, an investigation, termed
Abu Dhabi Secrets, was released. The investigation revealed that
Mario Brero provided the UAE with a list of over 1,000 individuals and 400 organizations in
Europe, including over 200 individuals and 120 organizations in France, who were falsely linked to radical Islam. According to
The New Yorker, Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed was involved in the
smear campaign against
Qatar and the
Muslim Brotherhood as well.
Dealings with gold smugglers, 2024 A unit of Sheikh Tahnoun's IHC, International Resources Holding (IRH) acquired
Zambia's Mopani copper mine under its chief global strategist, Sibtein Alibhai. Following that deal, IRH started looking for mining deals in Africa and other places aggressively. The United Nations investigators alleged that Alibhai and IRH approached and had meetings with several gold smugglers from
Democratic Republic of Congo. The Congo government said most of the smuggled gold ends up in the UAE.
AI chips for crypto investment under Trump administration, 2025 Under the
Joe Biden administration, Tahnoon was unable to acquire highly advanced AI chips due to concerns that the technology would be diverted from UAE to China. and acquiring AI chips. In May 2025,
Zach Witkoff announced that Tahnoon committed to putting $2 billion into
World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency start-up founded by the Witkoffs and Trumps. Shortly thereafter, the Trump administration agreed to transfer the world’s most advanced and scarce computer chips to the UAE, with many expected to go to Group 42. Multiple
National Security Council officials, including David Feith, raised national security concerns that the chips would end up in China. In April 2025, Trump fired 6 security council officials, paving way for
David Sacks to take over the chip negotiations. By mid-May, Sacks, Witkoff, and Sheikh Tahnoon had successfully negotiated the increased chip exports to the UAE, despite opposition from top American officials. == Personal life ==