Kushner Blasts Book Claim of a Secret Dubai Account With Millions Tied to UAE President 'Completely Insane'

Jared Kushner has rejected allegations that he had access to secret foreign bank accounts during Donald Trump's first administration, calling the claims 'completely insane' and 'categorically false'.

The allegations appear in an excerpt published by Vanity Fair on 22 October from Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed's Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East, by investigative journalist Matthew Cole.

Cole alleges that Dutch intelligence officers monitored Kushner's phone and observed him accessing a Dubai-based account at First Abu Dhabi Bank. Kushner denies the account existed.

The Alleged Dubai Account

Cole's account describes an intelligence operation involving the Netherlands Defence Intelligence and Security Service, known as MIVD.

According to the book, Dutch officers obtained access to material captured by a Russian military intelligence operative who had hacked Kushner's iPhone. Cole says the Dutch subsequently developed their own access and monitored activity on the phone's screen from early 2018.

He alleges that the surveillance showed Kushner accessing an account he calls Alpha. The account allegedly received roughly $750 million (£562.5 million) from Saudi and Emirati sources beginning in 2017.

Cole identifies the account holder as the Watani Al Emarat Foundation, a UAE government-funded charity. He alleges that Kushner was a signatory, giving him access to the account, rather than its owner.

The book identifies Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, brother of UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed and chairman of First Abu Dhabi Bank, as overseeing the account.

Kushner Calls the Allegations 'Completely Insane'

Responding on X, Kushner wrote: 'The allegations made by this author are completely insane, categorically false, and never happened.'

He said his team had denied the claims on the record and accused the author of failing to provide bank statements, wire-transfer records, account numbers or other verifiable details.

His lawyer also told Vanity Fair that Kushner had no knowledge of or connection to the Watani Al Emarat Foundation or a UAE bank account.

'There are no accounts and never were,' the lawyer said.

Book Describes a Second Alleged Arrangement

Cole also describes a second arrangement, which he calls Beta. He alleges that roughly $1 billion (£750 million) was routed through Azerbaijan to Israel's central bank in what appeared to be a government account.

A person briefed on the arrangement told Cole that the money was intended for Kushner's personal benefit. That is a separate allegation from the book's description of Alpha, which it presents as serving foreign-policy purposes.

Neither alleged account should be treated as evidence that Kushner personally received its full balance. His denial encompasses the accounts described in the book.

Princes and Thieves is scheduled for release on 27 October 2026 through Atria/One Signal Publishers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. It examines financial and diplomatic dealings involving Kushner, Mohamed bin Zayed and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Kushner's Government Role and Gulf Business Ties

Kushner served as a senior adviser to Trump from 2017 to 2021 and helped negotiate the Abraham Accords, under which the UAE and Bahrain normalised relations with Israel in 2020.

Mohamed bin Zayed, widely known as MBZ, became UAE president in May 2022. Mohammed bin Salman, commonly known as MBS, is Saudi Arabia's crown prince and prime minister.

After leaving the White House, Kushner founded Affinity Partners, a private equity firm that received a $2 billion (£1.5 billion) investment commitment from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund in 2021.

That publicly reported investment followed his government service and is separate from the disputed accounts described in Cole's book. Kushner's legal team maintains that those accounts never existed.