Jared Kushner has denied allegations that he was involved in secret financial operations involving bank accounts linked to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Israel. The allegations were published in an excerpt from a forthcoming book by journalist Matthew Cole, distributed by Vanity Fair.
The article claims that Russian hackers gained access to Kushner's phone, and Dutch military intelligence later tracked some of his activities. According to the author, access to a bank account in the United Arab Emirates was monitored via the phone, through which hundreds of millions of dollars were transferred via a bank in Azerbaijan.
The allegations relate to the period of Donald Trump's first administration, when Kushner was a senior advisor in the White House. According to the excerpt, about $750 million was directed to an account in the bank “First Abu Dhabi Bank“, and Kushner was listed as a person with access to it. The text also claims that approximately $1 billion was transferred to Israel via Azerbaijan.
The author connects the described operations with the President of the UAE Mohammed bin Zayed and the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. According to the publication, the funds were supposed to support the political goals of both countries and facilitate influence on American foreign policy. The excerpt states that the total value of the funds in two accounts was at least $2 billion.
Kushner: No Evidence
Kushner denied the allegations in a statement quoted by The Daily Beast. "The allegations made by this author are completely insane and have never happened," he said. He said that all allegations were denied prior to publication, but no bank statements, transfer documents, account numbers or transaction dates were provided.
"These are outrageous fabrications disguised as investigative journalism," Kushner added.
His lawyer, Chad Mizell, said he had sent the publisher a detailed 13-page letter responding to the allegations and threatened legal action. He called the allegations false and said there was no evidence to support them.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman also denied any knowledge of or involvement in the scheme. "I know absolutely nothing about these allegations," Friedman said, according to Vanity Fair.
At this point, the financial transactions described remain allegations from the published excerpt. The article does not present any public bank records to confirm the transfers, and Kushner and his lawyer deny both the existence of the accounts and any connection to them.
Sources: vanityfair.com, thedailybeast.com