Did Jared Kushner Have Real Estate Links To Shady Israeli Billionaire?

Jared Kushner Image by Getty Images

By Daniel J. Solomon April 27, 2017

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.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

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