Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law and former senior adviser, has strongly denied allegations that he had access to secret foreign bank accounts holding around $2 billion, calling the claims "outrageous fabrications" after they surfaced in an excerpt from a forthcoming book published by Vanity Fair.
What the book excerpt claims
The allegations appear in an excerpt from investigative journalist Matthew Cole's forthcoming book, "Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed's Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East", excerpted by Vanity Fair on October 22. According to the excerpt, the Netherlands Defence Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) gained access to screenshots from Kushner's iPhone X in late 2017 after flipping a Russian GRU operative, whose servers in Rostov reportedly contained images captured from the device.
Cole claims that by early 2018, Dutch officers had reverse-engineered a security vulnerability that let them watch Kushner's screen in real time. They reportedly observed him accessing a UAE-linked account at First Abu Dhabi Bank that had received roughly $750 million routed through Azerbaijan. The account, dubbed the "Alpha account", was nominally run under the cover of the Watani Al Emarat Foundation, a UAE government-funded charity. Kushner was said to be a signatory to the account, although it was not technically held in his name.
The excerpt further alleges that around $1 billion was funneled to Israel's Central Bank for Kushner's personal benefit — the "Beta account" — under a dual-key oversight system involving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with funds later routed through Cyprus. It claims UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman first discussed a $10 billion foreign-policy fund with Kushner during Trump's first term, and that at least $2 billion eventually landed in accounts linked to him.
Kushner's denial
Kushner rejected every allegation in a statement posted on X. "The allegations made by this author are completely insane and never happened," he wrote. "No bank statements, wire transfer records, account numbers, transaction dates, or other verifiable details were provided to support these extraordinary accusations." He noted that he had already faced intense scrutiny, including congressional investigations and a special counsel probe, and had voluntarily given more than 30 hours of testimony.
His lawyer also rejected the claims, saying there were no such bank accounts. Other figures named in the report, including former U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman, disputed their alleged roles. Cole's account has not been independently verified by the outlets reporting it.
What to watch next
The book's release will put these claims under heavier scrutiny, and the allegations arrive at a sensitive moment: Kushner remains deeply involved in diplomacy, negotiating alongside Steve Witkoff with Russia over Ukraine and with Gulf states over Iran, while raising billions for his investment fund. Whether any formal inquiry follows the Vanity Fair excerpt could shape how the story unfolds in the coming weeks.
Watch: the Times of India video report on the hacked-phone allegations and Kushner's denial
Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Long Road Ahead B (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0
Sources
- The Times of Israel: Kushner had secret fund with billions from UAE, Saudis; PM helped - report
- The Economic Times: Hacked phone, alleged $2 billion in accounts and UAE-Saudi links
- Mathrubhumi English: Dutch spies allege $2 billion Gulf money trail
- Business Today: Dutch intelligence found Jared Kushner accessing secret $2 billion Gulf funds