Jared Kushner had access to billions in UAE, Saudi funds, including Israeli bank account - report

Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, was given access to bank accounts containing billions of dollars by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, including one account in the Israeli Central Bank, the new book Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed’s Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East claims. 

In an excerpt from the book published by Vanity Fair magazine, the author, Matthew Cole, described how the Netherlands Defense Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) hacked Kushner's phone. The MIVD discovered that he had used it to log into a UAE bank account that had received hundreds of millions of dollars from a bank in Azerbaijan beginning in 2017.

The Azerbaijani national bank, the book explained, is often used for money laundering purposes for large transfers of foreign currencies into US dollars.

According to one source familiar with the deal between Kushner and the UAE, “Jared was looking for shortcuts in his diplomacy,” and had promised UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) he would push their agenda with Trump if they contributed money to a slush fund for diplomatic objectives, including Kushner's aim of eventual normalization with Israel.

“The Emiratis and the Saudis do this once a year," the source explained. "A billion or two is nothing for them, and if it gets them what they want, it’s money well spent.”

Kushner did not own this bank account. It was managed by the Emirati charity Watani Al Emarat Foundation as a cover, but he was a signatory to it. As such, he had access to the funds and could, in theory, conduct transactions.

"One way to view what Kushner did with the Alpha account is to imagine him as the director of the CIA," Cole wrote in the book.

"Had he been running the government entity that managed and ran secret foreign programs, maintaining the account, again, with presidential approval and congressional disclosure, Kushner’s conduct would have been within his job’s responsibilities.

"But he was not the director of the CIA, whose position is approved by the Senate and whose operations are overseen and accountable to Congress. Instead, Kushner was overseen only by his father-in-law."

Four sources cited by Cole, including two national security advisors, a White House chief of staff, and a former CIA director, said they were unaware of any presidential approval or authorization for Kushner's access to a foreign bank account.

Kushner's counsel, however, stated that the president's advisor had not made any agreements or arrangements with foreign leaders or officials without the full agreement of Trump and "in the best interests of the United States." His lawyer also denied any illegal activity Kushner had conducted while dealing with foreign leaders or officials, as well as any knowledge of and connection to the Emirati charity, its manager Dherar Belhoul Al Falasi, or the UAE bank account.

Another account reportedly funded by MBZ was located in Israel, and had at least one billion dollars transferred to it by spring of 2018, according to the book.

One person cited by Cole who worked with Kushner said that much of the money was transferred to Cyprus before being funneled elsewhere in order to grant him untraceable access.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was allegedly aware of the account and had encouraged Kushner to have the funds deposited into what appears to be a government account at the Bank of Israel.

KAN News noted that the Bank of Israel does not manage private accounts. Additionally, the bank requires the approval of two authorized persons in order to make transfers.

Netanyahu also reportedly required that Kushner inform him before making any transactions with the account, which Kushner did by passing messages through former US ambassador to Israel David Friedman.

Friedman, however, denied being involved in the reported affair.

“I know absolutely nothing about any of these allegations,” he said. “The specific allegations about me or my alleged involvement in this alleged scheme are 100% false.”

Kushner's counsel also denied all knowledge of the affair, claiming "there are no accounts and never were."

A third account, detailed by the book, was negotiated by Kushner to serve as a "rainy-day defense fund" for the UAE to pay Israel to support its defense from any major Iranian attacks, during the warming of Israel-UAE relations.

In a response to the excerpt published by Vanity Fair, Kushner called the allegations "outrageous and categorically false."

In a post on X/Twitter on Thursday, Kushner said that, during the period covered by the book, he had been "one of the most scrutinized people in the world," and had cooperated fully with investigations that did not turn up any evidence of the book's claims.

"No bank statements, wire transfer records, account numbers, transaction dates, or other verifiable details were provided to support these extraordinary accusations," he said. "This is not journalism. It is a mixture of fantasy, fiction, and advocacy, written by someone who is either deeply disturbed or acting with sinister intent."

Kushner's attorney, Chad Mizelle, stated that they intended to pursue legal action against those responsible for publishing the "categorically false and defamatory allegations."