Weekly Update: May 19

Your weekly rundown of the latest kleptocratic actions by the Trump administration

May 22, 2025

Klepto-Conflict of the Week: The Witkoff Family’s Global Chessboard

As we write this (May 20), President Trump has just finished a two-hour call with Vladimir Putin on the war in Ukraine. Coming out of the talks, the President’s latest pronouncements on ending the war closely resemble Moscow’s position, demanding little of the Kremlin.

The talks come at the end of a week of preparation by Steve Witkoff, Trump’s billionaire golfing buddy—officially Special Envoy to the Middle East and, unofficially, envoy to Moscow. Witkoff played a special role in preparation and public communications around current negotiations, and now, with the dismissal of Mike Waltz, might see a promotion to a major national security post. He has clearly emerged as a primary player, enough that The Atlantic described him as, “Trump’s Real Secretary of State.”

Steve Witkoff has deep ties with the Trump family. He was the co-chair of Trump’s record-setting inaugural bonanza this January. Before that, he spoke at the Republican National Convention and was at Trump’s side during the September 15, 2024 assassination attempt in Florida.

Witkoff is a real estate developer and a “landscape-changer,” according to his company’s branding. In government, Steve Witkoff’s official title is “Special Government Employee,” a part-time consultant to the U.S. government, free to keep one foot in the boardroom and the other in the Situation Room.

But scratch below the surface, and it’s not long before serious questions about Witkoff emerge. What are his business interests? His entanglements with Russia and oligarchs abroad? His family’s potential conflicts? Beneath the diplomatic handshakes and ribbon-cuttings, a tangle of business interests and family fortunes raises the question, “Can you really negotiate a peace settlement when your wallet is still in the room?”

The Blavatnik Connection: Oligarchs, Sanctions, and $1 Billion Condos

Witkoff’s entanglements include his partnership with Len Blavatnik, a billionaire with roots in Russia’s post-Soviet privatization who was sanctioned by Ukraine in 2023.

Their ties run deep. They collaborated on One High Line in New York and the newly minted Belgrove Resort & Spa in West Palm Beach. In 2024, the Witkoff Group and Blavatnik’s Access Industries bought the Banyan Cay Resort.

This raises a serious ethical problem. As America’s envoy, Witkoff is supposed to be a neutral broker in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Yet, his business partner is on Ukraine’s blacklist for “harming the interests of the state.” (While the specific justification for Blavatnik’s sanctions remains classified, he regularly collaborated with well-known oligarch Viktor Vekselberg who has been sanctioned and investigated by the United States.)

U.S. ethics laws bar most federal employees from negotiating when they have business ties to the parties involved, but, according to the Wall Street Journal, special government employees like Witkoff enjoy loopholes: as long as their business interests are not uniquely affected, they can earn income from outside of government. While Witkoff's son has said that he has divested from his companies, as of April 2025, no certificate of divestiture has been filed, nor have public financial disclosures been made available.

This raises questions about Witkoff's personal interests in the outcome of the negotiations. Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy observed, for example, “I think Mr. Witkoff has chosen to follow the strategy of the Russian side. I see this as extremely dangerous because he—whether consciously or unconsciously, I don’t know—is spreading Russian narratives. In any case, this does not help.”

Family Business: Passing the Baton, Keeping the Leverage

While the American public awaits evidence of Steve Witkoff's divestments and public financial disclosures, Witkoff has tapped his son Alex to lead the Witkoff Group and left World Liberty Financial—which he co-founded—in the hands of his sons, Alex and Zach. A glance at World Liberty's Gold Paper is revealing—in addition to being embossed with President Trump's image backed by a dripping gold seal, it also lists Eric, Donald Jr., and Barron Trump as Web3 Ambassadors and Donald Trump as "Chief Crypto Advocate," alongside members of the Witkoff family.

The New York Times reported on May 1 that state-backed Emirati investment firm MGX plans to use WLF's digital coins to complete a $2 billion transaction with the largest crypto exchange in the world, Binance. The Times concluded, "Virtually every detail of Mr. [Zach] Witkoff’s announcement, made during a conference panel with Mr. Trump’s second-eldest son, contained a conflict of interest."

While the U.S. code affords envoys like Witkoff privileges that can permit them to participate in matters that could affect their financial interests so long as the matter will not have a “special or distinct effect” on the employee other than as part of a general industry or class of persons, the arrangements that Witkoff has established with his two sons bear a high conflict of interest risk and may cross that threshold. It also begs the very basic question of why an average federal worker—making an average federal salary of $101,000 in 2024—is expressly prohibited from participating personally and substantially in official matters where their spouse, minor child, or general partner have a financial interest while someone like Witkoff—with an estimated net worth of $2 billion—is not held to the same standard, whether by law or appearance.

The Grand Scheme

The Witkoff family’s story is a case study in the modern kleptocratic playbook: blend public power with private profit, pass the baton to the next generation, and keep the money moving faster than the regulators can catch up. Whether it’s luxury condos, golf resorts, or meme coins, the machinery keeps humming—raising the question of whose interests, exactly, are being represented at the negotiating table.

As always, watch this space. The deals may change, but the game remains the same.

Weekly Wins

The Trump administration's ongoing efforts to consolidate executive authority and silence independent voices were stifled this week when U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell blocked the takeover of the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), ruling, "the removal of USIP’s president, his replacement by officials affiliated with DOGE, the termination of nearly all of USIP’s staff, and the transfer of USIP property to the General Services Administration" were "effectuated by illegitimately-installed leaders who lacked legal authority to take these actions..." Established by Congress, USIP is an independent, nonpartisan institution charged with increasing the nation’s capacity to prevent, mitigate, and help resolve international conflict without violence. As of May 21, people wanting to know more about the Institute's work would find it difficult to access official information since its website remained blocked.

In a time when it seems like there is not a lot of progress, it is important to realize that pushing back against kleptocracy matters. Here's what happens when people join together and stick to their beliefs:

New sanctions bill on Russia making its way through the Senate [WSJ]

Sanctions on Russian tankers actually work quite well (despite Putin's claims) [Brookings]

Congress drops anti-NGO law...for now [Al Jazeera]

Musk's brand reputations crater [Axios]