BOMBSHELL REPORT: Kushner Accused Of Secret $1 Billion Saudi Transfer Through Israel With Netanyahu’s Help

Jared Kushner, the Bank of Israel, and the difference between allegations and facts

No one should be above criticism or scrutiny. But criticism must be grounded in facts, and serious journalism must distinguish between evidence and speculation.

BOMBSHELL REPORT: Kushner Accused Of Secret $1 Billion Saudi Transfer Through Israel With Netanyahu’s Help

A new investigative report alleges that Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, had access to secret bank accounts containing billions of dollars from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, including approximately $1 billion allegedly transferred through Israel with the assistance of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. The allegations were published Thursday by […]

BILLION-DOLLAR BOMBSHELL: Kushner Accused of Secret Gulf Money Transfers Through Israel With Netanyahu’s Help, Denounces Report as “Outrageous Fabrications”

Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and longtime Middle East adviser, is facing explosive allegations that he secretly gained access to approximately $2 billion supplied by Saudi Arabian and United Arab Emirates leaders during Trump’s first administration, including an alleged $1 billion transfer routed through Israel with the assistance of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. The accusations, published Thursday by Vanity Fair in an excerpt from an upcoming investigative book, claim that Netanyahu helped arrange for a massive sum of money to be placed in an account at the Bank of Israel, potentially concealing its connection to Kushner by making the funds appear to belong to the Israeli government. Kushner has categorically rejected the allegations, calling them fabricated and unsupported by financial documentation. Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who is accused in the report of serving as an intermediary between Kushner and Netanyahu, has also denied the claims. The allegations have not been independently substantiated, and no criminal wrongdoing has been established. Nevertheless, the report has generated considerable attention because of the enormous sums involved and the suggestion that senior figures in three Middle Eastern governments participated in undisclosed financial arrangements involving a top White House adviser. The claims appear in Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed’s Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East, a forthcoming book by investigative journalist Matthew Cole, whose findings were excerpted in Vanity Fair. According to Cole, the alleged financial network originated in discussions involving United Arab Emirates leader Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, both of whom developed close relationships with Kushner during Trump’s first presidency. The book claims that the Gulf leaders initially considered establishing a fund exceeding $10 billion to support diplomatic and political initiatives associated with the incoming Trump administration. That proposal reportedly evolved into a series of smaller financial arrangements involving accounts in the UAE and Israel. Cole alleges that approximately $2 billion was ultimately made available through accounts connected to Kushner, although the precise arrangements through which the Saudi and Emirati leaders allegedly contributed the funds remain unclear. One of the most serious allegations involves a purported $1 billion transfer in 2018. According to the book, Mohamed bin Zayed arranged for approximately $1 billion to be transferred through Azerbaijan to Israel, where the money was intended for Kushner. Cole cites a person familiar with the alleged arrangement who claims Netanyahu encouraged Kushner to place the funds in an account at Israel’s central bank, where they would appear to be government assets rather than money associated with an American presidential adviser. The report further alleges that Netanyahu required Kushner to notify him before conducting transactions involving the account. Because the Bank of Israel does not ordinarily maintain personal accounts, the alleged arrangement would raise significant questions about how the money could have been deposited and accessed. Cole claims the account operated under a system requiring two authorized individuals to approve transactions, with Netanyahu allegedly exercising oversight over the funds. According to the report, Kushner communicated with Netanyahu about the account through Friedman, who was serving as U.S. ambassador to Israel. Friedman emphatically rejected the allegation, describing it as “100 percent false.” Kushner’s attorney likewise denied that any such account existed or that the alleged arrangement ever occurred. The investigation also describes a separate account in the United Arab Emirates, allegedly containing approximately $750 million and maintained at First Abu Dhabi Bank. Cole claims the account was funded through the Watani Al Emarat Foundation, a UAE government-supported organization allegedly used to facilitate sensitive overseas financial and security operations. According to the report, Kushner was designated as an authorized signatory, giving him the ability to access the funds even though the account was formally owned by the foundation. The author alleges that the money was transferred through an Azerbaijani financial institution, making it more difficult to determine its original source. The alleged arrangement first came to the attention of Dutch intelligence officials, according to Cole, after they obtained access to information from a Russian military intelligence operation. The report claims that Dutch intelligence officers recruited a Russian hacker who had access to servers operated by Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency. Among the materials discovered were screenshots taken from Kushner’s iPhone. By early 2018, Dutch specialists had reportedly identified a vulnerability that allowed them to observe activity on Kushner’s phone, including his alleged access to the UAE bank account. Cole says the surveillance provided investigators with information about financial transfers involving hundreds of millions of dollars, prompting questions about the relationship between Kushner and the Gulf governments. The author also alleges that some of the money associated with the Israeli account was subsequently transferred through banks in Cyprus, although the report does not establish where all the funds ultimately went. A third alleged arrangement involved a separate fund connected to possible Israeli military assistance to the UAE in the event of a major Iranian attack. According to Cole, the proposed arrangement was intended to finance emergency defense cooperation between Israel and the Gulf state as the two countries moved toward closer diplomatic relations. The allegations are particularly significant because Kushner played a central role in negotiating the Abraham Accords, the historic normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab countries during Trump’s first administration. Cole raises questions about whether the alleged financial arrangements were properly disclosed under American ethics and financial reporting requirements. As a senior White House adviser, Kushner was subject to federal disclosure rules governing financial interests and certain relationships with foreign governments. The report cites several senior officials from the first Trump administration who said they were unaware of any presidential authorization for Kushner to maintain access to the alleged foreign accounts. Cole also quotes a former federal prosecutor who suggested that, if the allegations were substantiated and financial benefits were exchanged for official influence, the conduct could raise questions under federal bribery and foreign-agent laws. However, the publication does not establish that Kushner received personal payments, that the alleged accounts existed, or that any laws were violated. Kushner responded Thursday with an unusually forceful public statement, accusing Cole of inventing the allegations and failing to produce documentation supporting them. “The allegations made by this author are completely insane and never happened,” Kushner said. He emphasized that neither the article nor the author had produced the underlying financial records necessary to verify the extraordinary claims. “We denied every one of these claims on the record, yet the author failed to provide a single shred of evidence to substantiate any of them. No bank statements, wire transfer records, account numbers, transaction dates, or other verifiable details were provided to support these extraordinary accusations.” Kushner also rejected the suggestion that such arrangements could have escaped scrutiny during the extensive investigations of the first Trump administration. “I voluntarily cooperated with these investigations, providing over 30 hours of testimony. None of these allegations ever surfaced, because none of these events ever happened,” he said. He went further in condemning the publication and questioning the author’s motives. “These are outrageous fabrications being presented as investigative journalism. 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.” Friedman, who was identified in the report as an alleged intermediary, also issued an emphatic denial. “I know absolutely nothing about any of these allegations,” Friedman said, “and the specific allegations about me or my alleged involvement in this alleged scheme are 100% false.” Kushner’s legal representatives have likewise maintained that he never held the alleged accounts and complied with applicable legal requirements during his White House service. The controversy comes as Kushner continues to play a role in President Trump’s diplomatic efforts, working alongside special envoy Steve Witkoff on sensitive international negotiations. Kushner’s business relationships in the Middle East have previously attracted scrutiny, particularly investments made in his private equity firm, Affinity Partners, after he left the White House in 2021. Those publicly reported investments are separate from the secret financial arrangements alleged in Cole’s new book.