A new book by investigative journalist Matthew Cole alleges that Dutch intelligence hacked the phone of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and former senior adviser, and watched him access a Dubai-based bank account holding hundreds of millions of dollars, according to an excerpt published by Vanity Fair.
Cole writes that a source he considered reliable told him in spring 2020 that the money in the account had come from a bank in Azerbaijan and that Kushner appeared to transfer large sums to other people, including a warlord, a mercenary and a former hit man. The excerpt says the transfers totaled more than $700 million and that the accounts linked Kushner to Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
The book, "Princes and Thieves," focuses on Kushner and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed and is due out on Oct. 27. Cole also reports that Saudi and Emirati leaders put at least $2 billion into accounts for Kushner.
Kushner called the allegations "completely insane" and "outrageous and categorically false," and his lawyer said no such accounts exist. No account records were published with the excerpt, and the claims have not been independently verified.
Russian hack, Dutch surveillance
According to the excerpt, Dutch military intelligence turned a hacker working for Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU, who gave them access to a server in Rostov, Russia, holding images captured from Kushner's iPhone. By early 2018, Cole writes, the Dutch could watch the phone's screen in real time.
Cole alleges that roughly $750 million went to an account at First Abu Dhabi Bank held by the Watani Al Emarat Foundation, a UAE government-funded charity, on which Kushner was allegedly a signatory but not the owner. A separate account in Israel allegedly received about $1 billion in a transfer the book says was arranged by UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed.
White House: "Baseless smears"
The White House called the report "baseless smears" relying on anonymous sources. Kushner's attorney, Chad Mizelle, said the legal team sent publisher Simon & Schuster a 13-page letter denying the allegations before publication and intends to pursue legal action. Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, named in the excerpt as a go-between with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, called the claims about him "100% false."
House Oversight Committee Democrats said Kushner needs to answer the questions publicly. Kushner, who now serves as a special envoy on Gaza, Ukraine and Iran, also runs the investment firm Affinity Partners, which has drawn money from Gulf investors.
