Jared Kushner and his family business has now been linked to real estate transactions with an Israeli billionaire under investigation in four countries for bribery and corrupt practices.
According to The New York Times, Kushner partnered in 2012 with Raz Steinmetz, whose family got rich in the diamond business, to purchase $190 million worth of New York rental properties.
Raz Steinmetz put up $50 million of funding in down-payments.
But the ties have raised questions because of Raz Steinmetz’s uncle, Beny Steinmetz, who is facing criminal probes in Israel, the United States, Switzerland and Guinea.
The charges stem from Beny Steinmetz’s investments in Guinea, where it is alleged that he bribed the wife of a former dictator in order to obtain rights to an iron ore mine.
While Raz Steinmetz claims that he has no business ties to Beny Steinmetz, The Times reported that the two shared personnel and the same financial instruments, including Swiss bank accounts.
Responding to the story, Kushner representatives told The Times there was no reason to be concerned.
Jared Kushner and Raz Steinmetz—nephew of the Israeli billionaire Beny Steinmetz—purportedly share ownership of 15 buildings in downtown Manhattan worth over $150 million and several other lucrative arrangements, according to a report by financial media company Bloomberg.
The partnership and holdings are leading some to cry foul over a possible conflict of interest for Kushner, who has recently come into a significant amount of political power after being made a top advisor to US President Donald Trump. One of Kushner’s new roles also includes attempting to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Kushner’s associate, Raz, is a member of the Steinmetz family, whose interests and holdings include diamond-mining, engineering and real estate.
Raz’s uncle, Beny Steinmetz, has been the subject of an international investigation into bribery over the activities of one of his companies, BSG Resources, which secured mining rights in Guinea by allegedly bribing government officials.
Steinmetz has maintained his innocence.
According to Bloomberg, Steinmetz and Kushner’s companies have been in business since at least 2012 and are engaged in a number of joint ventures including the aforementioned Manhattan properties, investing in Trump Bay Street tower in Jersey City and a partnership between Kushner Cos. and Gaia, an investment firm owned by Raz Steinmetz.
The report highlights a dubious relationship between Gaia and Bank Hapoalim, which is not only Israel’s largest bank but also one of Kushner Cos. lenders.
Bloomberg highlights this problematic relationship—that of a senior US government advisor (with personal ties to the president) with business ties to one of the wealthiest families in a foreign nation the US is intimately involved with—as being indicative of weak US federal disclosure rules.
According to the Bloomberg report, real-estate investors can remain anonymous through shell companies, allowing businesses, individuals and foreign officials the opportunity to curry favor secretly with the administration through a real-estate investment.
The scant information available about personal and financial ties involving Kushner comes at a conspicuous time with many wondering whether or not Kushner can in fact, remain impartial given the breadth of his new role(s).