According to a Vanity Fair investigation, Dutch intelligence officials discovered in late 2017 that Russian GRU operatives had hacked Jared Kushner’s iPhone X. The Netherlands Defense Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) later gained access to the same vulnerability and began monitoring Kushner’s phone activity.
The Dutch spies observed Kushner accessing a bank account at First Abu Dhabi Bank that received roughly $750 million transferred from a bank in Azerbaijan, according to the report. The account, referred to as “Alpha,” was overseen by Tahnoon bin Zayed, brother of UAE ruler Mohamed bin Zayed (MBZ), who served as the bank’s chairman.
According to the investigation, MBZ and Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) established the fund to support Trump administration foreign policy goals. The report states that the two Arab royals initially discussed contributing more than $10 billion but later narrowed their commitment to at least $2 billion across at least two accounts. The money was intended to help secure MBS’s path to becoming Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and to advance efforts toward Israeli-Palestinian normalization, according to sources cited in the article.
The report indicates the account was structured to appear as a legitimate UAE government program but was designed to remain hidden given that it was partially managed by Kushner, a senior White House advisor. The use of Azerbaijani banks as intermediaries made the transfers difficult to trace, according to the investigation. Azerbaijani financial institutions commonly facilitate large currency exchanges for a fee without transparent disclosure, the report explains.
The MIVD discovered the vulnerability in the iPhone X by studying how Russian operatives had initially penetrated the device. Rather than providing full device control, the Dutch exploit allowed them to capture screenshots of Kushner’s screen as he used the phone. The investigation notes this represented only partial access compared to more sophisticated malware capabilities.
The report describes this as part of a broader effort by MBZ and MBS to advance their regional interests during the Trump administration, with Kushner serving as a key intermediary for these foreign policy objectives.
Key facts
- Dutch intelligence gained access to Kushner’s iPhone X through a security vulnerability discovered on Russian GRU servers in late 2017
- The monitored UAE bank account received approximately $750 million transferred from Azerbaijan
- Funds were provided by UAE ruler Mohamed bin Zayed and Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman to advance regional foreign policy goals
- The account was overseen by Tahnoon bin Zayed, MBZ’s brother and chairman of First Abu Dhabi Bank
- Initial discussions involved potentially $10 billion but were reduced to at least $2 billion across multiple accounts