Book reveals Donald Trump's son-in-law's multi-million dollar business deals with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates

Book reveals Donald Trump's son-in-law's multimillion-dollar dealings with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates An excerpt from *Princes and Thieves*, by journalist Matthew Cole, claims that Dutch intelligence monitored Jared Kushner's personal phone while he accessed a bank account in the United Arab Emirates. According to the author, the Emirati president, Mohamed bin Zayed, and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, deposited at least $2 billion into accounts in Kushner's name, who has denied all allegations. In early 2018, the Netherlands Defense Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) managed to access Jared Kushner's iPhone and began capturing every image of his screen while he used it. Donald Trump's son-in-law, then a senior advisor to the White House, used the phone to enter a bank account in the United Arab Emirates that, by that time, had already received hundreds of millions of dollars from a bank in Azerbaijan. This information is part of *Princes and Thieves*, a book by American journalist Matthew Cole to be published on October 27, about what he describes as the "secret plot by Kushner and Emirati ruler Mohamed bin Zayed to reshape the Middle East." According to the exclusive excerpt published by Vanity Fair, Bin Zayed (MBZ) and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), deposited at least $2 billion into at least two bank accounts in Kushner's name. The first clue—according to Cole—appeared in late 2017, when the MIVD detected that an agent of the Russian intelligence service (GRU) specializing in bank data theft was traveling to the United Kingdom on a spying mission. With British authorization, the Dutch gave him a choice between working for them or being arrested, and the Russian reportedly chose the former. Later, he provided them with access to a GRU server, where Dutch spies found screenshots of Kushner's iPhone. By replicating that intrusion, the MIVD found a vulnerability in the phone and was able to access it. Cole recounts that when a first source described the story to him, he told them it sounded "absurd." Six months later, he questioned an Emirati government official about those transfers. The official remained silent. Then, he answered: "Yes." **Everyone Wins** According to the initial source, Kushner allegedly transferred money from the Dubai account to a warlord, a mercenary, and a hitman. According to the fragment published in the U.S. magazine, Kushner, MBZ, and MBS aligned at a key moment. MBS aspired to become Crown Prince, MBZ wanted to end the nuclear deal with Iran pushed by Barack Obama, and Kushner wanted both of them to help him pressure the Palestinians to accept a deal favorable to Israel. In parallel, Kushner Companies was facing the maturity of a $1 billion loan on the 666 Fifth Avenue building in Manhattan. At the start of Trump's first administration in 2017, both Arab leaders offered to finance a fund to support the new Republican administration's foreign policy goals—such as the wall on the southern border—and, to this end, spoke with Kushner about allocating more than $10 billion to the United States. The idea vanished a few months later. "Jared was looking for shortcuts in his diplomacy," a source familiar with those negotiations reportedly noted. That person also allegedly claimed that "Jared promised MBZ that he would push his agenda with Trump if they participated in the fund. He wanted the normalization of relations with Israel so that businesses could take off." **The Alpha and Beta Accounts** Trump's son-in-law reportedly had two bank accounts to carry out the transactions. The first, the Alpha account, was opened at the First Abu Dhabi Bank, the largest bank in the Emirates, under the supervision of its president, Tahnoon bin Zayed, MBZ's brother. Starting in 2017, Saudis and Emiratis transferred nearly $750 million to that account, which would function as a foreign policy fund managed in part by Kushner and MBZ. All the money arrived in dollars from a bank in Azerbaijan. Furthermore, according to the book excerpt, Dutch intelligence reportedly noticed that Kushner appeared as a signatory on an account owned by the Watani Al Emarat Foundation, a charity funded by the Emirati government. The director of the foundation, Dherar Belhoul Al Falasi, used that cover to facilitate the Emirates' secret arms procurement programs, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter cited in the book. Thus, Watani Al Emarat served as a front to finance military and intelligence operations abroad. The author compares Kushner's role to that of a CIA director—a position that requires Senate confirmation and is subject to Congressional oversight—while Kushner reportedly operated and answered only to his father-in-law, Trump. Four senior officials from the Trump administration, including a former CIA director, indicated that there was no record of presidential authorization for Kushner to access a foreign government account. Federal and U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations require Kushner to declare his access to the account; therefore, if he did not do so, it is possible he violated U.S. law. The second account, Beta, had reportedly received nearly $1 billion by the spring of 2018, which MBZ transferred to Israel via Azerbaijan. A person aware of the existence of this account indicated that the funds were intended for Kushner's personal benefit and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested depositing them in the Bank of Israel, which only holds government funds and operates with a "double key" security system. **The Denial** Netanyahu reportedly told Kushner to inform him before any transaction, and Kushner relayed these messages through Ambassador David M. Friedman. "I know absolutely nothing about any of these allegations," stated Friedman, who added that "the specific allegations against me, or regarding my supposed involvement in this alleged scheme, are 100% false." Through his lawyer, Kushner—now Trump's special envoy for peace—rejected all accusations. He stated that his client "has no idea" that such an account exists. His defense insisted that "no such accounts exist, nor have they ever existed." The information provided by the book preview had been replicated in an article published by *The Jerusalem Post*. However, it was withdrawn by the Israeli outlet due to "significant doubts surrounding the alleged transactions," according to a statement published on X. "Cole's allegations were presented without bank records identifying the account holder, authorized signatories, or establishing Kushner's access to the funds," the newspaper added. The *Jerusalem Post* statement was later cited by Kushner himself on the same social network. "I appreciate seeing a publication willing to examine the underlying facts more closely, rather than simply repeating these allegations," he said regarding the matter. "This story will not withstand rigorous analysis. To date, no verifiable evidence has been presented to support these false claims," he added. "I hope others—including those commenting on X—take the time to analyze the facts before repeating these allegations. Credibility is important, and serious accusations deserve serious examination," concluded the current U.S. special envoy for peace. **Trump's Envoy** In his role as Trump's special envoy, Kushner met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow on September 5, along with envoy Steve Witkoff. According to the Ukrainian outlet *The New Voice of Ukraine*, Putin claimed that his forces would occupy the entire Donbas in a few months. However, Kushner questioned the Russian president's claim. "With all due respect, you told us the same thing a year ago," he said. "What are the odds that we come back here in a year and you tell us exactly the same thing? Perhaps we could avoid wasting another year?" he questioned. Later, at the European Yalta Strategy conference held in Kyiv, Kushner acknowledged that Ukraine was not willing to withdraw to the line defined by Moscow. "If Ukraine wanted to withdraw to that line, then obviously, we already have the rest of the agreement prepared and structured," he stated. "For now, Ukraine does not want to do so," he added, before noting that Washington is seeking a "creative solution" to the territorial dispute, which remains the central point of disagreement in the negotiations.