Russian hack exposes Trump's son-in-law's secret dealings with Saudi, UAE
What's the story
A new book has alleged that Russian hackers exposed two secret bank accounts of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law. The allegations, made by freelance investigative journalist Matthew Cole in an excerpt published by Vanity Fair, claim that screenshots from Kushner's phone were found on a remote server operated by Russia's military intelligence agency. The claims date back to 2017, when Dutch authorities arrested a Russian operative with the GRU.
Account revelation
Hacker provided access to GRU server
According to the book, the Russian hacker was arrested by Dutch authorities after learning that he was traveling to the UK for a spy mission.
He was then given two options: work for the Netherlands Defense Intelligence and Security Service or get arrested by the British.
The spy chose the latter and later provided access to a sensitive GRU server.
This server contained secret files with screenshots of Kushner's iPhone X, according to the excerpt of the book.
Server
Kushner caught logging into a UAE bank account
According to the article, the Dutch discovered by 2028 how the Russians gained access to Kushner's phone and remained on the device to track his activity.
They say they immediately discovered Kushner logging into a UAE bank account that had received hundreds of millions of dollars from a bank in Azerbaijan.
Kushner was serving as a senior adviser to the president and director of the Office of American Innovation then.
Royals's involvement
Slush fund for Trump administration
The Vanity Fair report, which named the bank account Alpha, said it was overseen by First Abu Dhabi Bank chairman Tahnoon bin Zayed.
The account, managed by the Watani Al Emarat Foundation, received nearly $750 million from Azerbaijan. Although Kushner was a signatory on the account, he wasn't its owner.
The account was overseen by Tahnoon bin Zayed, the bank's chairman and brother of UAE ruler Mohamed bin Zayed.
Account
The slush fund idea fell through
The account was allegedly established on an idea by bin Zayed and Saudi Crown Prince bin Salman to create a slush fund to help the Trump administration with its foreign policy goals.
Although the slush fund idea fell through, at least $2 billion was deposited into two accounts for Kushner, according to the outlet.
Additional funds
Second account used to transfer money for Kushner?
The second account, named Beta, was reportedly used by the Saudi Crown Prince to transfer $1 billion for Kushner.
A source was quoted as saying that when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu learned about this transfer, he advised Kushner to deposit the money in the Israeli Central Bank instead.
UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan reportedly arranged the transfer.
The report also claims that another account was used to transfer $1 billion for Kushner's personal benefit.
Legal response
Kushner's attorney threatens legal action over allegations
Under the second Trump administration, Kushner, married to Ivanka Trump, has been acting as one half of the president's makeshift peacemaking duo alongside special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Kushner has vehemently denied the allegations, calling them "outrageous fabrications" and calling Cole's work as "a mixture of fantasy, fiction, and advocacy."
His attorney Chad Mizelle also refuted the claims and threatened legal action for publishing what he called "false and defamatory allegations."