A $6.2m banana, a crypto empire and Trump’s potential conflicts

Not long after buying and publicly consuming a $6.2m banana as part of an artworld stunt, Chinese crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun made another eye-catching purchase, investing $30m ($23.5m) into a cryptocurrency firm called World Liberty Financial.
The company had foundered since its October launch, investors seemingly leery of its prospects and its terms.
But it boasted a potentially enticing feature: the chance to do business with a firm partnering with and promoted by none other than Donald Trump.
Mr Sun’s investment tipped the company over the threshold that allowed the president-elect to begin profiting from the venture. Trump and his family are now in the position to collect roughly $20m – and potentially far more.
Mr Sun, who is currently fighting fraud charges in the US related to his own crypto business, did not respond to questions about what prompted his interest in the tokens, which cannot be traded.
But the episode set off alarm bells among government ethics experts, who see it as an indication that Trump’s expanding business ventures have made it easier than ever for those hoping to influence US policy to steer money his way.
“The conflicts have grown substantially with the scope of his business empire,” said Richard Painter, who served as the White House’s chief ethics lawyer during the George W Bush administration.