A Vanity Fair excerpt from an upcoming book alleges that Russian military intelligence hacked former Trump White House senior adviser Jared Kushner's phone, exposing purported access to Middle Eastern bank accounts holding at least $2 billion.
The article, published Thursday, was an exclusive excerpt from a book written by Matthew Cole entitled "Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed's Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East." (RELATED: The Deep State Is Leaking Trump's Most Sensitive Undercover Operations To The Washington Post)
The excerpt said that sometime between 2017 and 2018, Russian military intelligence was able to hack Kushner's phone.
After Dutch intelligence arranged for British authorities to apprehend a Russian military intelligence operative and offered him the choice of cooperating against the Russians or facing arrest, the operative gave the Dutch access to a Russian intelligence server containing screenshots of Kushner's iPhone. Dutch intelligence later developed its own method of monitoring Kushner's screen as he used his phone.
Cole alleged that Kushner had access to "Alpha" and "Beta" bank accounts connected to leaders of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.
The Alpha account was allegedly held at the UAE's largest bank and overseen by the bank's chairman, the brother of Mohamed bin Zayed (MBZ), the president of the UAE.
The author wrote that $750 million was transferred into the Alpha account, which Kushner and MBZ would oversee and partially manage as part of an effort to strike a deal to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"Jared was looking for shortcuts in his diplomacy," a source who had spoken with both UAE and Israeli officials about the account reportedly told Cole, adding that this style was typical of Emirati and Saudi leaders. "Jared promised MBZ that he'd push their agenda with Trump if they participated in a fund. He wanted normalization with Israel so that business could take off."
Dutch intelligence traced the funds to an Azerbaijani government-linked bank account that sent hundreds of millions of dollars to a Dubai account, according to Cole.
"Regardless of whether he was a signatory or the owner, Jared was required by federal government regulations and the Internal Revenue Service to disclose his access to the account," Cole wrote. "Unless disclosed to and approved by the US government and reported on his tax returns, Kushner's access to the Alpha account may have violated US law."
Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, is greeted by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at Villa Borsig on September 10, 2026 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Omer Messinger/Getty Images)
By spring 2018, the Beta account had moved about $1 billion to Israel through Azerbaijan for Kushner, Cole wrote, alleging that someone who knew about the money told him it was for Kushner's personal benefit.
One source reportedly told Cole that the money had been transferred in "significant amounts" to individuals including a warlord, a mercenary and a former hit man.
The allegations made by this author are completely insane, categorically false, and never happened. We denied every one of these claims on the record, yet the author failed to provide a single shred of evidence to substantiate any of them. No bank statements, wire transfer… pic.twitter.com/pXoCzGXqwT
— Jared Kushner (@jaredkushner) October 22, 2026
Kushner said he has denied each claim and said the author has failed to present any substantial evidence, including bank statements, wire transfer records, account numbers, transaction dates, or other verifiable details.
Kushner added he was "one of the most scrutinized people in the world" during the time of the alleged accounts, noting that despite media coverage, congressional investigations and a special counsel investigation, none of these allegations have ever surfaced.
"These are outrageous fabrications being presented as investigative journalism," Kushner said. "This is not journalism. It is a mixture of fantasy, fiction, and advocacy, written by someone who is either deeply disturbed or acting with sinister intent."
.@VanityFair posted an excerpt from a book containing outrageous and categorically false allegations.
— Jared Kushner (@jaredkushner) October 22, 2026
The allegations made by this author are completely insane and never happened. We denied every one of these claims on the record, yet the author failed to provide a single shred… pic.twitter.com/CNgoSihXXP
Let me be clear: We intend to pursue legal action against those responsible for publishing and disseminating these categorically false and defamatory allegations. We are preserving all legal rights and remedies and will address these matters in the appropriate forum, not through… https://t.co/XyNZvmwTDb
— Chad Mizelle (@chad_mizelle) October 22, 2026
My statement as Jared’s attorney:
— Chad Mizelle (@chad_mizelle) October 22, 2026
“The central allegation in this book is categorically false. These are not questions of interpretation or competing recollections: there are no bank accounts. They don’t exist. These are egregious and defamatory claims without a shred of… https://t.co/xjwX7ez5Be
Good question, @greta. We have seen no evidence that this alleged hack ever occurred. Despite the numerous counterintelligence briefings Jared received, no such hack was ever raised with him.
— Chad Mizelle (@chad_mizelle) October 23, 2026
More importantly, even if his phone had been compromised, it would not have contained… https://t.co/cveVV5e89v
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