Book alleges Kushner Gulf transfers
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The gist
Journalist Matthew Cole's book excerpt alleges Gulf royals moved about $750 million into accounts Jared Kushner could use.
Kushner denies it all, and the claims have not been independently verified.
Background
Jared Kushner is Donald Trump's son-in-law and was a senior White House adviser during Trump's first administration, with a lead role in Middle East policy. Matthew Cole is a journalist whose forthcoming book, Princes and Thieves, examines Kushner's relationship with UAE leader Mohamed bin Zayed. Vanity Fair published an excerpt on 22 October 2026 describing Dutch intelligence access to Kushner's hacked iPhone and bank accounts allegedly funded by Gulf and Israeli interests, which renewed questions about conflicts of interest in his Middle East business and diplomatic ties.
How it unfolded
- 2017According to Cole's account, roughly $750 million was transferred into an account at First Abu Dhabi Bank, the UAE's largest bank, from 2017 onwards, with Saudi and UAE leadership contributing.
- late 2017Dutch intelligence services captured and flipped a Russian hacker working for the GRU (Russian military intelligence), gaining access to a server holding screenshots of Kushner's iPhone X.
- early 2018Dutch personnel monitoring Kushner's phone identified him logging into a Dubai-based bank account that had received around $750 million.
- Oct 22, 2026Vanity Fair published the book excerpt and posted that Kushner's hacked phone revealed secret negotiations including more than $700 million in transfers.
- Oct 23, 2026Kushner and his legal team issued statements categorically denying the allegations; his attorney called them false and defamatory and said they intend to pursue legal action.
Who’s saying what
- Author
- Cole reports that Kushner and MBZ partly managed the Alpha account as a pool for off-the-books diplomatic objectives, and that MBZ sent about $1 billion to a separate Israeli account for Kushner's benefit.
- Denial
- Kushner said the allegations are completely insane and never happened, and his lawyers denied the accounts existed and that he had knowledge of a UAE bank account.
- Caution
- CBS News noted the excerpt was not independently verified, and other reports say it does not establish that Kushner personally owned the accounts or received the funds.
Still unverified
Cole's excerpt was published in Vanity Fair but not independently verified by CBS News; reports say it does not establish that Kushner personally owned the Alpha account or received the funds, and it does not reproduce the screenshots or bank statements it describes. Kushner's attorney denies the alleged accounts existed.