Kushner ran secret $2bn accounts via Israel

According to the book "Princes and Thieves", due for release next week, in late 2017 Dutch military intelligence recruited a Russian hacker who worked for Russian military intelligence. The hacker gave the Dutch access to a server in Rostov containing screenshots from Kushner's iPhone. The Dutch identified a vulnerability in the phone, monitored the screen during use, and observed Kushner accessing a bank account in the United Arab Emirates into which hundreds of millions of dollars had been transferred via a bank in Azerbaijan.

The account, held at First Abu Dhabi Bank, was registered in the name of the Emirati charity Watani Al Emarat, funded by the UAE government. Kushner, it is alleged, was not the owner but held signing authority. From 2017 onwards, approximately 750 million dollars were transferred into it from Saudi and Emirati sources.

A confidential source claimed the organisation also served to disguise arms purchases and to fund covert military and intelligence activity outside the country. It is further alleged that Kushner transferred funds from the account to several parties, including a militia figure, a mercenary and a former contract killer. Their identities and the purpose of the transfers were not detailed.

According to the book, Kushner, UAE ruler Mohammed bin Zayed and Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman initially discussed a fund of more than ten billion dollars. Among the goals discussed: cancelling the nuclear deal with Iran, advancing bin Salman's position, and an Israeli-Palestinian settlement. Funding the wall on the Mexican border was also proposed. The idea was abandoned, and instead funds were transferred to separate accounts.

Allegations of Israeli involvement

According to the publication, in spring 2018 bin Zayed transferred approximately one billion dollars to Israel via Azerbaijan, for Kushner. A source briefed on the arrangement told Koll that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu encouraged Kushner to deposit the money in the Bank of Israel so it would appear as a government account, even though it was intended for his personal use. The Bank of Israel does not open private accounts.

It is further alleged that Netanyahu demanded updates before any action was taken with the money, and that messages were passed through the then US ambassador, David Friedman. Another source claimed a large portion of the sum was later transferred to Cyprus. It was not clarified how Netanyahu learned of the money or how it was used.

Friedman vigorously denied the claims: "I know nothing about these allegations, and the specific allegations concerning me and my alleged involvement in this scheme are one hundred per cent false." Kushner's lawyer denied the existence of the account: "There are no such accounts and there never were."

According to the investigation, Kushner helped negotiate an agreement under which Israel would help defend the UAE against an Iranian attack, and the UAE transferred to the Bank of Israel a payment intended for an emergency fund. A former prosecutor in the Robert Mueller investigation said that if Kushner promised to advance the interests of foreign leaders in exchange for funds, it could have raised suspicions of bribery and acting as an agent of a foreign state.

Four former senior officials in the Trump administration said they knew of no presidential authorisation that would have allowed Kushner access to a foreign government's account. Kushner's lawyer stated he had not violated any law and that his ties with foreign governments met legal requirements.

Categorical denial

Kushner responded on X: "The accusations this author is making are completely insane, utterly false, and these events never occurred. We denied each of these claims officially, and yet the author provided not a shred of evidence to support them. No account statements, no documentation of bank transfers, no account numbers, no transaction dates, and no other detail that can be verified."

He added: "During the period in question I was one of the most scrutinised and thoroughly examined people in the world. I was subject to intense media coverage, numerous congressional investigations, and a special counsel investigation. I cooperated voluntarily with these investigations and gave more than 30 hours of testimony. None of these allegations ever came up, because none of these events occurred."

Kushner called the publication "outrageous fabrications presented as investigative journalism" and "a mixture of fantasy, fiction and agenda", written by someone "who is severely disturbed or acting from malicious motives".

The allegations are published against the background of Kushner's ties with Gulf states. After leaving the White House in 2021 he established the Affinity Partners fund, which received a two-billion-dollar investment from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund. This is a known investment, separate from the accounts alleged in the investigation.

Kushner served as a senior adviser in the White House during Trump's first term and played a central role in managing relations with Gulf states and advancing the Abraham Accords. As we reported recently, Kushner continues to play a diplomatic role in the current administration, conducting meetings with foreign parties on sensitive issues.