Jared Kushner's private equity firm has received hundreds of millions of dollars from wealth firms in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, The New York Times reported.
"The infusion of money from interests in the two rival Persian Gulf monarchies reflects the continued efforts by Mr. Trump and his aides and allies to profit from the close ties they built to the Arab world during his presidency and the desire of leaders in the region to remain on good terms with Mr. Kushner as his father-in-law seeks the presidency again," The Times report states. "The Emiratis invested more than $200 million with Mr. Kushner's firm, Affinity Partners, two people told about the transactions said. The U.A.E.'s embassy in Washington declined to comment. A Qatari entity invested a similar sum, according to two people with knowledge of that deal. A spokesman for the Qatari embassy in Washington declined to comment."
As The Times points out, the Emirati government has forged a close relationship with Kushner due to his time in the Trump administration. During the Trump presidency, a Qatar-linked company helped bail out a debt-ridden tower in midtown Manhattan owned by the Kushner family.
People familiar with both governments tell The Times that Emirati and Qatari officials were initially reluctant to invest in Kushner's private equity fund partly due to the political risks, but feared unfavorable treatment if they turned down Kushner's invitation to invest and Trump won back the White House.
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While it's not unusual for political insiders to benefit from deals abroad after their administrations leave office, the scale and timing of the investments in Kushner's firm -- in the range of $2.5 billion -- have raised the eyebrows of Democrats and watchdog groups.
Read the full report over at The New York Times.
