Book Allegations Spark Legal Threats Over Alleged Gulf Slush Funds

Investigative journalist Matthew Cole’s book *Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed’s Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East* alleges that former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner oversaw two secret “slush-fund” accounts—“Alpha” and “Beta”—funded by UAE ruler Mohamed bin Zayed (MBZ) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). Cole says the accounts held roughly $750 million (Alpha, at First Abu Dhabi Bank) and $1 billion (Beta, allegedly moved to Israel’s Central Bank via Azerbaijan), totaling at least $2 billion. The funds are said to have been used to advance Gulf-backed diplomatic goals, including Israeli-Arab normalization, and to provide personal benefit to Kushner.

The Guardian

Kushner entered the Trump administration in 2017 with his wife Ivanka Trump, serving as a senior diplomatic envoy for the Middle East. The book places the alleged arrangements within a pattern of Gulf influence operations, referencing the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the 2019 murder of Emirati poet-journalist Habib Al Sayegh as examples of state-level coercion.

The Guardian

• Alpha account: ~$750 million at First Abu Dhabi Bank.

The Guardian

• Beta account: ~$1 billion, allegedly transferred to the Israeli Central Bank via Azerbaijan.

The Guardian

• Total alleged contributions: at least $2 billion from MBZ and MBS combined.

The Guardian

• Kushner’s testimony to congressional and special-counsel investigations totals over 30 hours.

The Guardian

Kushner’s legal team called the book’s central claim “categorically false,” demanded that Vanity Fair retract the excerpt, and warned of imminent legal action against the magazine and publisher Simon & Schuster.

New York Post

Media analysts note the lack of verifiable documentation. Independent journalists have questioned reliance on anonymous sources and the absence of bank statements, wire-transfer records, or account numbers.

New York Post

• Existence of accounts: Cole’s sources assert Alpha and Beta existed; Kushner’s lawyers say “there are no bank accounts.”

The Guardian

• Location of funds: The book claims a portion was moved to Israel’s Central Bank; the Bank of Israel says it does not provide private accounts and has not confirmed any such arrangement.

The Guardian

• Evidence provided: Cole’s manuscript cites “confidential interviews” but offers no publicly available documents; Kushner’s team points to this absence as proof of falsity.

The Guardian

These contradictions leave the core financial allegations unsubstantiated in the public record.

New York Post

• “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 evidence to substantiate them.” — Chad Mizelle, Kushner lawyer

The Guardian

• “We formally put Vanity Fair and Condé Nast on notice regarding the false and defamatory allegations published about our client, Jared Kushner,” — Chad Mizelle

New York Post

Cole’s book was released ahead of its originally scheduled October 27 launch. Kushner’s attorneys have signaled plans to sue Simon & Schuster and Matthew Cole as early as next week, with a separate potential lawsuit against Vanity Fair also under consideration. The legal actions are expected to focus on defamation and the alleged lack of evidentiary support for the book’s claims.

New York Post