AB DAO
Last changed 2026-11-01 · Fact-check review — Fact-check review (verdict: revise): the reviewer checked the page's claims against its sources; the trust score was recalculated from the page's findings, 47 → 59. Version history →
Why this score
| Every page starts at | 65 |
| Concerns that are not fraud | -22 |
| Problems around it, caused by others | -3.6 |
| Long-running | +10 |
| Sum | 49 |
- 2 sections set aside: the claims did not hold up in a fact-check, pending correction.
Score: 59/100 (kept between 0 and 100)
How scoring works →Page reliability: Fact-checked 2026-11-01 · 7 of 11 claims confirmed · 3 need better sources · 1 out of date
anchored·56MoPm…62dPSummary
AB DAO (ticker: $AB) is a decentralized autonomous organization and blockchain ecosystem that emerged in early 2025 from the rebranding of the Newton Project (formerly $NEW), originally founded in 2018. The project attracted significant investigative scrutiny in April 2026 when a joint OCCRP and Guardian Australia investigation found that AB-affiliated entities promoted a Timor-Leste crypto resort project that involved multiple individuals subsequently sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for alleged ties to the Prince Group, described by U.S. authorities as a multibillion-dollar online fraud syndicate. AB also announced a blockchain partnership with World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency project co-owned by Trump family members, in November 2025.
Connected Entities
9 entities · 60 linked investigations- World Liberty Financial→mentioned with→Coinbase(60%)
- USD1 (World Liberty Financial)→mentioned with→World Liberty Financial(80%)
- Sui→mentioned with→Coinbase(60%)
- Hu Xiaowei (Prince Group second-in-command)→mentioned with→Chen Zhi / Prince Group(90%)
- AB DAO→mentioned with→Hu Xiaowei (Prince Group second-in-command)(80%)
- World Liberty Financial (WLFI)→mentioned with→USD1 (World Liberty Financial)(70%)
- USD1 (World Liberty Financial)→mentioned with→World Liberty Financial (WLFI)(80%)
- AB DAO→mentioned with→Chen Zhi / Prince Group(85%)
- AB DAO→mentioned with→World Liberty Financial (WLFI)(75%)
- AB DAO→mentioned with→USD1 (World Liberty Financial)(65%)
- + 4 more
Connected Through
8 shared actors · 293 investigationsDistinct actors this investigation shares with others — holders, traders, and named parties. Shared infrastructure (exchanges, pools) is excluded.
- ♦Coinbasetoken
- □Bitgetorganization
- □Suiorganization
- ⌂World Liberty Financialprotocol
Timeline(12 events)
2018
Newton Project founded with the goal of building a decentralized community economy.
BingX Academy / Gate Learn10 February 2025
Newton Project rebrands as AB; Newton DAO becomes AB DAO with $NEW token holders migrating to $AB.
CoinLiveJune 2025
AB DAO and AB Charity Foundation sign an MOU with AB Digital Technology Resort Lda to develop a blockchain theme resort in Dili, Timor-Leste.
The Block (press release)July 2025
Lin Xiaofan donates $500,000 to Timor-Leste President Ramos-Horta's charity. Ramos-Horta issues Lin a diplomatic passport, designating him special adviser for economic and commercial affairs.
OCCRPOctober 2025
Sui Chenggang meets World Liberty Financial executives including Donald Trump Jr. in Singapore.
OCCRPOctober 2025
U.S. Treasury sanctions Yang Jian, Yang Yanming (Kimi Yang), and Shih Ting-yu (Vivian Shih) for alleged ties to Prince Group CEO Chen Zhi and the Palau resort project.
OCCRPNovember 2025
AB announces partnership with World Liberty Financial, granting WLFI the right to deploy its USD1 stablecoin on the AB blockchain.
Binance Square / DecryptNovember 2025
Timor-Leste resort MOU terminated. Three sanctioned individuals removed from AB Digital Technology Resort Lda shortly after U.S. sanctions announcement.
OCCRP15 December 2025
Zhao Chen (wife of alleged Prince Group 'second in command' Hu Xiaowei) divests her 38% stake in the Timor-Leste resort company.
OCCRPFebruary 2026
OCCRP and Guardian Australia investigators visit the proposed Timor-Leste resort site and find an empty plot with shrubs — no construction activity.
The Cooldown / OCCRP8 April 2026
OCCRP and Guardian Australia publish joint investigation linking AB DAO's resort project to U.S.-sanctioned individuals with alleged ties to the Prince Group fraud syndicate.
OCCRPDecision Log
- slot 464277743 · hash FRGLZT6hwF5nMHUHowjwJWCxD1NFz3a662sw8jEf4gpL
- slot 464277737 · hash 3qTFtP9KDHjQKKyNGMQ3jQF1isEbUZ8Dafcih61H7xDF
- slot 464277733 · hash 22E9za3RWEHWRqNpkX25P76ZM2UKBdxxF7ByGUHt3UK1
- slot 455363706 · hash 9jubeEhvVcQjkvDJGUKuSz9T5ty4gc8M1hra1x6bAiEB
- slot 427550269 · hash 7UHyNJ9sq2DLJWx1YJ6XoQtL5qWvsXF5LwHo7Xmaq6Kf
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (5 decisions). 12 of 14 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 6/19/2026, 5:21:20 PM
last updated: 11/1/2026, 11:31:25 PM
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