An in-depth look at thirty years of dynastic clientelism, illicit property purchases, and attacks on democratic institutions

The Bolsonaro family’s political trajectory marks a polarizing era in modern Brazilian history. Led by patriarch Jair Bolsonaro, a former army captain who served nearly three decades in Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies, the political clan built its brand on anti-establishment rhetoric, militarism, social conservatism, and zero-tolerance policies toward crime.

RELATED:
Brazil’s Court Probes Foreign Funds in Flávio Bolsonaro’s Campaign

Despite promoting an image centered on traditional values and law enforcement, investigative records and judicial proceedings of the Bolsonaro family depict a political network deeply tied to public fund diversion, money laundering, and connections with armed paramilitary groups.

The Bolsonaro family expanded its influence into a dynasty, embedding sons Flávio, Carlos, and Eduardo across local, state, and federal offices.

Flávio Bolsonaro served as a Rio de Janeiro state deputy for sixteen years before his election to the Federal Senate in 2018. Carlos Bolsonaro directed public messaging as a Rio city councilor, while Eduardo Bolsonaro represented São Paulo as a federal deputy.

The structural base of this network began unraveling following political shifts, election defeats, and growing scrutiny from the Supreme Federal Court (STF) and federal authorities.

Clientelism, Militias, and the Rio de Janeiro Subculture

Jair Bolsonaro’s public life began in the late 1980s following his departure from the Brazilian Armed Forces. Elected to the Rio de Janeiro City Council in 1988 and to Congress in 1990, Jair Bolsonaro established a conservative political base anchored in military sector interests, opposition to progressive social policies, and public defense of paramilitary activity.

During his parliamentary career, Jair Bolsonaro openly defended Rio de Janeiro’s irregular security forces, known locally as milícias. These militias are armed paramilitary groups formed by former and active police officers who exercise territorial control over neighborhood communities.

Unlike drug trafficking networks, militia groups operate illegal local monopolies in extortion, land sales, private security, public transport, and cooking gas distribution. In parliamentary speeches, Jair Bolsonaro repeatedly characterized these militia groups as “self-defense units” that brought order to neglected communities.

The expansion of the Bolsonaro family’s political influence relied heavily on these political networks. In 2002, Flávio Bolsonaro was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro (ALERJ) at age twenty-one. Carlos Bolsonaro secured his city council seat in 2000 at age seventeen.

This strategy allowed the family to secure multiple legislative budgets, employ political operatives across jurisdictions, and maintain influence in local communities.

During his time at ALERJ, Flávio Bolsonaro maintained direct political and employment ties with figures associated with Rio’s militia structures. Flávio Bolsonaro employed Raimunda Veras Magalhães and Danielle Mendonça da Costa—the mother and ex-wife of Adriano Magalhães da Nóbrega—in his legislative office.

Nóbrega was a former Special Police Operations Battalion captain who led the Crime Bureau (Escritório do Crime), a professional hit squad linked to militia extortion and high-profile assassinations.

Official records show Flávio Bolsonaro conferred the Medal of Tiradentes, the highest honor awarded by the Rio legislature, on Nóbrega in 2005 while Nóbrega was incarcerated on murder charges.

Financial audits showed that funds drawn from legislative payrolls were routed through accounts controlled by Nóbrega’s family members, linking parliamentary staff operations directly to informal militia networks.

Defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro and his family have landed in Miami after fleeing his country.

This comes a day after they were granted United States visas by the Trump administration. pic.twitter.com/oB91ejWab5

— The Associated Press (@AP) October 28, 2026

Flávio Bolsonaro and the Rachadinha System

During his mandate in the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro, Flávio Bolsonaro operated a systematic financial embezzlement enterprise through his parliamentary office.

This illicit network relied on a practice known locally as a salary kickback scheme (rachadinha), a scheme in which legislative staff members are required to return a substantial portion of their public salaries to the elected official or an appointed intermediary.

Investigations conducted by the public prosecutor’s office of Rio de Janeiro and financial intelligence reports from the Council for Financial Activities Control (COAF) revealed that numerous staff members appointed to Flávio Bolsonaro’s office did not perform their legislative duties, functioning instead as nominal ghost employees.

Fabrício Queiroz, a retired military police officer, long-term associate of the Bolsonaro family, and former advisor to Flávio Bolsonaro, served as the primary operator of the collection network. COAF reports identified atypical financial transactions moving through Queiroz’s bank accounts, including transfers directed to members of the Bolsonaro family.

Investigators documented that a significant portion of the embezzled funds was funneled back to cover personal expenses for the Bolsonaro family, ranging from utility and school tuition payments to real estate acquisitions.

To legitimize the illicit funds generated through the rachadinha structure, Flávio Bolsonaro acquired commercial and residential properties and established a franchise business, a chocolate shop located in a Rio de Janeiro shopping mall.

Financial audits of the chocolate business revealed statistical anomalies: cash deposits into the store’s accounts frequently mismatched daily retail sales volumes, indicating the business operated partly as a front to inject cash from the legislative payroll scheme into the formal financial system.

Public prosecutors formally denounced Flávio Bolsonaro for embezzlement, money laundering, and running a criminal organization based on these findings.

Flávio Bolsonaro just two days ago:

“I will not give up on my Brazil.”

Two days later, he has reportedly fled Brazil for the U.S. pic.twitter.com/f91KsZ3V74

— Clash Report (@clashreport) October 27, 2026

Broader Crimes and Systemic Attacks on Brazilian Democracy

The financial allegations against Flávio Bolsonaro formed part of a broader pattern of asset accumulation and institutional interference linked to the wider Bolsonaro family network.

Investigative reports tracking real estate transactions across Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Brasília revealed that a substantial portion of the family’s property acquisitions over three decades were conducted using physical cash payments.

Public registries and journalistic investigations showed that family members purchased multiple residential and commercial units without utilizing standard banking mortgages or formal credit lines, raising concerns regarding the origin of the funds and potential systemic money laundering.

Beyond financial offenses, the family’s political dominance was maintained through continuous friction with investigative bodies and democratic institutions.

Throughout Jair Bolsonaro’s presidential term and the subsequent legislative mandates of his sons, the administration systematically attempted to alter leadership positions within federal agencies, including the Federal Police and the Federal Prosecutor’s Office.

The systemic subversion extended to public discourse, where state apparatuses were utilized to discredit journalists, civil society organizations, and judiciary members examining the clan’s legal exposures.

By framing routine judicial oversight and anti-corruption investigations as partisan political persecution, the Bolsonaro network undermined public trust in regulatory institutions while insulating its members from administrative accountability.

These maneuvers laid the groundwork for an escalating judicial crisis that culminated when electoral outcomes shifted control of the executive branch and removed institutional protections from the family’s inner circle.

The Anatomy of the Bolsonaro Exodus

The national elections on October 25 and subsequent rulings by the magistrate Alexandre de Moraes, representing Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court, marked a decisive shift in the legal landscape surrounding the Bolsonaro family.

As anti-corruption investigations advanced, the Supreme Federal Court, under the leadership of justices overseeing inquiries into financial crimes, institutional subversion, and antidemocratic acts, began tightening judicial restrictions on key figures within the clan. For this reason, Justice Moraes prohibited Flávio Bolsonaro from leaving Brazil and ordered the seizure of his passports—both his ordinary and diplomatic ones. After 24 hours, as he had not physically surrendered them, the Federal Police proceeded to officially cancel his travel documents.

It has been known through the medias that since October 27 Flávio Bolsonaro, along with his family, traveled via private transport to cross Brazil’s border; they are currently in the United States, having arrived there by private plane.

This strategic retreat mirrored patterns observed among regional political figures seeking to evade national accountability systems through foreign asylum or extended stays abroad.

The exodus highlighted broader questions regarding international cooperation and judicial jurisdiction. Right-wing political factions and sympathetic organizations abroad played a facilitative role, offering platforms and legal assistance to political figures fleeing Latin American jurisdictions.

Other media outlets reported that a U.S. State Department official stated that Flávio Bolsonaro and his family would be granted visas, allowing them to reside in the United States following his loss in the Brazilian election to Lula.

The departure of key family members underscored the challenges facing Brazilian legal institutions as they sought to enforce judicial rulings against individuals with transnational resources and foreign political allies.

WATCH: Brazilian President Lula on Flávio Bolsonaro leaving Brazil for the U.S.:

For the Bolsonaro family, Brazil is their second homeland.

Their first homeland is licking boots in the United States, just as they are accustomed to doing. pic.twitter.com/ugCdYWD9gg

— Clash Report (@clashreport) October 27, 2026

Impunity vs. Institutional Resilience in Brazil

The trajectory of the Bolsonaro family and the specific criminal charges leveled against Flávio Bolsonaro illustrate the structural contradictions of contemporary populist right-wing political movements.

While campaigning on platforms of moral renewal, fiscal discipline, and strict law enforcement, the Bolsonaro’s constructed a sophisticated network of public fund embezzlement, real estate money laundering, and structural alignment with paramilitary groups.

The legal actions and subsequent international flights of Flávio Bolsonaro and his family carry profound implications for Brazilian democracy. On one hand, the coordinated evasion of judicial mandates highlights the enduring vulnerability of state institutions when confronted with entrenched political dynasties possessing international safety valves.

On the other hand, the rigorous investigative work conducted by federal prosecutors, financial intelligence units, and the judiciary demonstrates the operational capacity of Brazil’s democratic framework to investigate and prosecute powerful political actors regardless of office.

Ultimately, the handling of the Bolsonaro family’s legal exposures serves as a critical test for the rule of law in Latin America.

As Brazilian courts continue to address the financial and institutional infractions of the Jair Bolsonaro administration, the outcome will define the boundaries of accountability for political elites in the region for decades to come.

Sources: Brasil de Fato – Agência Brasil – Gov.br – O Globo – Folha de S.Paulo – O Estado de S.Paulo – El País – CNN Brasil – EFE – TeleSUR – NYT

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The former prosecutor general broke a month-long silence after fleeing Ukraine to Austria amid a corruption scandal involving senior officials from the Prosecutor General's Office.

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Lawmakers from Brazil’s ruling Workers’ Party (PT) asked a court on Tuesday to order the preventive detention of former presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro and trigger an Interpol red notice, accusing him of fleeing to United States to evade Brazilian justice.

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The request landed one day after the far-right senator ignored a Supreme Federal Court order to surrender his passports within 24 hours. He had previously said he would comply with the measure and had no plans to leave Brazil.

Federal deputy Lindbergh Farias filed the motion alongside colleagues Rogério Correia and Ana Elisa Santos. “We have filed a request for preventive detention for Flávio Bolsonaro, who did not surrender his passport and has allegedly fled to United States,” Farias explained. “We have also asked for the Interpol red alert to be activated,” he detailed.

RELATED: Flavio Bolsonaro Had Fled to the United States

The lawmakers argue that Jair Bolsonaro’s eldest son is trying to dodge criminal proceedings opened against him over alleged corruption, money laundering and illegal currency transfers. Correia went further, assuring the former candidate “was plotting a new coup attempt in case he did not win the elections.”

🚨AGORA: Os deputados federais Lindbergh Farias, Ana Elisa e Rogério Correia pedem prisão de Flávio Bolsonaro e alerta vermelho da Interpol. pic.twitter.com/aRjy0px2S4

— Central Reality (@centralreality) October 27, 2026

Arrest and Interpol Alert

Regional media reported from the early hours of Tuesday that the senator had left national territory bound for United States, with a stopover in Argentina, but his exact whereabouts remain unknown. His campaign team has stayed silent, neither confirming nor denying the reports of a flight.

Brazilian Federal Police reinforced inspections at border points and kept inquiries open to determine whether he actually left the country. The order demanding his passports grew out of a recent interview with his brother Eduardo Bolsonaro, who suggested that Flávio should leave Brazil and contest the vote count if he suffered an electoral defeat.

Flávio Bolsonaro now faces a tightening legal perimeter. At the Supreme Federal Court, Justice Alexandre de Moraes oversees investigations into money laundering schemes connected to betting houses and large transfers with lawyer Willer Tomaz. Justice André Mendonça runs separate probes into irregularities in fundraising for the film “Dark Horse.”

The alleged escape raises the stakes of those cases. A defendant who remains inside the country can fight charges through the courts; one who crosses a border becomes the subject of an international pursuit, and the request filed Tuesday is aimed at exactly that outcome.

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Una publicación compartida de teleSUR English (@telesurenglish)

Coup Plot Alleged

The episode carries a family precedent. Eduardo Bolsonaro has lived in United States since 2025 to avoid a four-year prison sentence for coercion of justice in the coup attempt trials against their father, former President Jair Bolsonaro. Flávio’s own passport order traces back to Eduardo’s public suggestion that his brother flee and challenge the results.

That connection is now central to the Workers’ Party argument. The lawmakers contend the senator’s failure to hand over his passports was not a bureaucratic lapse but a deliberate move to escape accountability, a claim the defense has not addressed while the campaign team holds its silence.

The court will now weigh the detention request against the evidence that Flávio Bolsonaro left the country. If the Interpol red notice is activated, it would oblige member states to locate and provisionally arrest him, transforming a domestic legal dispute into an international manhunt.

For now, Brazilian authorities are working to confirm the exact circumstances of his departure. The investigation will determine whether the border crossing was legal, and whether any official assisted it. Those questions will shape the next phase of a case that has already drawn the attention of the entire region.

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Senator Flávio Bolsonaro was ordered on Monday to hand over his passports within 24 hours and not to leave Brazil, a measure signed by Supreme Federal Court (STF) justice Alexandre de Moraes.

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Brazil’s Federal Police on Monday notified Senator Flávio Bolsonaro that he must surrender his passports and comply with a ban on leaving the country, measures ordered by Supreme Federal Court (STF) justice Alexandre de Moraes a day after Bolsonaro lost the presidential run-off to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

RELATED: Flávio Bolsonaro’s Party Recognizes Lula’s Victory in Brazil

Federal Police agents located the senator on Monday morning near his father’s home in Brasília, where former President Jair Bolsonaro is under house arrest. Police told Bolsonaro on Monday morning that he had 24 hours to hand over his documents. The order also bars him from contacting lawyer Willer Tomaz, who is under investigation for alleged money laundering.

The ruling was signed on Sunday night, after the results of that day’s runoff were announced. Flávio Bolsonaro, the far-right candidate, had lost the second round to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Flávio Bolsonaro diz que foi intimado pela PF a entregar seus passaportes por decisão de Alexandre de Moraes pic.twitter.com/Ngvh19Pnmk

— Sam Pancher (@SamPancher) October 26, 2026

Text reads: “Flávio Bolsonaro says that he was subpoenaed by the federal police to surrender his passports by decision of Alexandre de Moraes.”

Flávio Bolsonaro alleged that the justice’s decision responds to remarks made last Friday by his brother, former congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, who said in an interview that the senator should leave Brazil and challenge the vote count in the event of a defeat, according to the senator.

The Liberal Party’s senator denied any intention to flee, called the ruling an attempt at political intimidation and said he will hand over the documents while his lawyers file an appeal. “I never said that,” he wrote on his official channels, referring to leaving the country. “Is that a reason to take away my passport? Is this justice?,” he added.

Legal experts typically note that travel bans and passport seizures are precautionary measures and not findings of guilt.

Two Open Investigations

The order is tied to two cases pending at the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court. The first, led by Moraes and originating in proceedings in Rio Grande do Sul, examines alleged money laundering with Tomaz through betting companies and payment platforms. Last week the court ordered the freezing of up to 6 billion reais in assets linked to Tomaz, the suspension of his business activities and the lifting of his bank, tax and foreign-exchange secrecy.

Federal Police found that the senator appeared with a “master” user profile on an account of the firm Alcazar Holdings, and detected transactions of almost 130 million reais between March and May 2025 in accounts linked to the lawyer, the source says. Tomaz’s defense rejected the accusations and challenged the proportionality of the asset freezes.

The second case, assigned to justice André Mendonça, looks into alleged irregularities in raising private funds for the film “Dark Horse,” which focuses on Jair Bolsonaro’s political career. Investigators are analyzing audio and digital messages that link Flávio Bolsonaro to dealings with Daniel Vorcaro, the former owner of Master Bank, and police have asked for a 90-day extension to finish financial examinations and process international cooperation requests. Bolsonaro has acknowledged seeking funds for the film in earlier reports in this conversation and denies offering favors.

After Lula’s victory, Bolsonaro will be without public office from February 1, 2027, the first time in more than 20 years that he will be outside state service as he did not run for Senate reelection.

The Supreme Federal Court will keep jurisdiction over the cases against him, under a doctrine the court set in March 2025, approved by seven votes to four and complemented in May 2026, under which alleged crimes committed in office stay with the Supreme Court even after officials leave their posts.

From 2027, the senator will be without parliamentary immunity or public office, a condition that increases his exposure in the ongoing proceedings. The defense’s appeal and the pending expert reports mark the immediate path of the case.

Former Colombian President Gustavo Petro has been accused of trapping and exploiting 48 women for presidential parties, with officials alleging they were hired "just to be with President Petro."

Carlos Andrés Ríos, director of Colombia’s Administrative Department of the Presidency (DAPRE), claimed Petro oversaw a system that used service contracts to "systematically" control and weaponize the women, channeling public salaries in exchange for intimate relationships.

"We are going to prove to the Colombian people how the Casa de Nariño was unfortunately set up, organized, and tailored for something completely different — not to govern, but to party there every single day, bring in women," Rios said during a congressional hearing last week.

COLOMBIAN LAWMAKERS SEEK SUSPENSION OF TRUMP FOE GUSTAVO PETRO OVER ALLEGED MEDDLING IN UPCOMING ELECTION

Petro issued a statement Sunday denying that he had used his public office to obtain sex.

"I have never given out a contract in exchange for sexual relations. I would vomit on myself if I ever did such a thing," Petro said in a post on X.

He argued that while his office provided state-funded aid programs for vulnerable women, he claimed that it is fundamentally different from giving contracts to individuals in exchange for sexual favors.

TRUMP-BACKED 'EL TIGRE' LOOKS TO CRUSH CARTELS, END COLOMBIA'S SOCIALIST ERA IN PIVOTAL ELECTION

"Helping poor women, female heads of households, and those engaged in sex work so that they have different life options — as I have demonstrated in public administration through concrete and funded programs — is something very different from giving out contracts in exchange for sexual relations. No person who has participated in those public programs will ever be able to say that I have done anything of the sort," he said.

Petro also acknowledged in the statement that he had occasionally visited establishments where sex work took place when he was young, saying he regretted the experiences and had stopped visiting such places decades ago.

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"When I was very young, I occasionally visited places where sex work was practiced. There, I experienced that paying for sex felt dirty to me, and I perceived the sadness of the men and women who attended those places. That is why I stopped visiting them decades ago," he said.

The accusations come amid broader criticism of Petro over alleged misuse of public funds, depletion of national budgets and drug trafficking. 

Petro has dismissed the allegations as politically motivated attacks by figures such as President Donald Trump and Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella.

"After attempting to portray me as corrupt and a drug trafficker — an intention expressed by people like Abelardo de la Espriella and Donald Trump, without being able to present a single piece of evidence of corruption or drug trafficking, because I have never stolen a single peso from the public treasury and I have fought for over two decades against drug traffickers, exposing their political ties," Petro said. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment. 

RT | October 26, 2026

The EU faces a growing budget squeeze after borrowing hundreds of billions for pandemic recovery and Ukraine. Rising repayment costs threaten future spending and rushed payouts raise fraud risks, its chief auditor has warned. Brussels is nevertheless seeking billions more for Kiev.

Speaking to Rapporteur, Tony Murphy, president of the European Court of Auditors, described the budget situation as a “pressure cooker,” with EU debt potentially reaching €1 trillion (1.12 trillion) by the end of 2027. The bloc’s debt stood at €739 billion (825 billion) in 2025, up from €601 billion ($671 billion) a year earlier.

“You have to pay it back at some time. It’s not free money,” Murphy said. He emphasized that “it’s real money that has to be paid back.”

However, concerns have repeatedly been raised about the EU getting back any of the billions it has spent on Ukraine, including its recent €90 billion ($100 billion) loan, which Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico recently slammed as “gifts” that Ukraine will “never pay back.”

Kiev is required to repay the loan only after receiving Russian reparations – something Moscow has vehemently ruled out. Ukraine’s own former Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov has also acknowledged that such scenarios are “just fairy tales” and that Brussels will never get its money back, which is being actively embezzled by Kiev.

The EU, however, must still repay the money it borrowed. According to Murphy, servicing pandemic debt alone would consume 8% of the bloc’s proposed 2028–2034 budget and governments have yet to agree on new revenue to cover the repayments, leaving Brussels with less money for other priorities.

The squeeze comes as households and businesses continue to face high energy costs following Europe’s break with Russian supplies, compounded by the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Murphy also warned about how quickly money is being spent. He called the requirement to process €90 billion in remaining pandemic recovery payments by December “crazy,” describing the impending payouts as a “tsunami.”

Pressure to meet deadlines could also encourage weaker checks and more abuse, he said, as European prosecutors are already investigating hundreds of suspected fraud cases involving recovery funds.

Despite the crisis, Brussels is again looking for more money for Kiev after Vladimir Zelensky requested another €70 billion ($78 billion) for 2027, beyond existing commitments. European Council President Antonio Costa said Friday that the EU expects to cover roughly two-thirds, with a decision potentially coming in November.

Princes and Thieves, a new book by investigative journalist Matthew Cole, may open a rabbit hole into financial connections between Middle Eastern dictators and President Donald Trump's family. Cole accuses Emirati monarch Mohamed bin Zayed (MBZ) of sending billions of dollars to various mercenaries and political operators, including Jared Kushner, son-in-law to President Donald Trump. Cole's reporting combines well-documented connections with secondhand accounts from anonymous sources.

On Thursday, Vanity Fair published an excerpt from the book, reporting that Dutch military intelligence hacked into Kushner's phone in 2018 and discovered hundreds of millions of dollars in bank transfers connected to MBZ. Also on Thursday, Kushner published a letter from his lawyers to Cole categorically denying the "incredible and false" allegations in the book. "Mr. Kushner never accessed foreign accounts and always followed all rules and regulations and only pursued goals that were in the best interest of the United States as directed by the President of the United States," they wrote.

Cole had originally written on his blog that the book was scheduled for release on October 27, but the publication date was pushed forward over the weekend.

The book purports to tie Kushner to a vast web of Emirati influence operations around the world. In Cole's telling, which matches other journalists' accounts, MBZ wants to reshape the Middle East and eastern Africa into an alliance of U.S.-backed dictatorships, where "tolerance" is enforced through high-tech surveillance and "democracy" is a synonym for terrorism. MBZ's use of mercenaries in pursuit of these goals is well-documented. So is Kushner's personal affinity with the Emirati monarch and his business ties with the Arab monarchies.

Soon after Trump won the 2016 election, MBZ held a widely reported meeting with Kushner. According to the book—and according to much of that earlier reporting—the monarch complained about the Obama administration's failure to back Arab regimes against popular revolutions, its decision to end the Iraq War, and its diplomacy with Iran.

Going much further than past reporting, Cole now claims Kushner was personally involved in MBZ's mercenary operations. MBZ and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman put a collective $2 billion into Emirati and Israeli bank accounts which were managed (but not technically owned) by Kushner, according to Cole's sources. Those same sources claim that parts of this secret "slush fund" went to Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar, American military contractor Erik Prince, and Cuban hitman Felipe Vidal.

Haftar, a former CIA asset, became a general in Libya's 2011 revolution and then attempted to overthrow the new government with Emirati backing in 2014. Despite a 2020 ceasefire, his forces continue to control much of Libya. Prince, founder of the military contractor formerly known as Blackwater, moved to the UAE and helped build a secret army of Colombian mercenaries. He sued Cole for defamation after Cole reported on Prince's role in helping Haftar, but a judge threw out the case. Cole's sources claimed that Vidal, a self-described "hit man," helped the United Arab Emirates (UAE) fake an Iranian attack on oil tankers in May 2019, meant to provoke Trump into war.

Kushner's lawyers have denied any relationship with any of those three men, apart from a single meeting with Prince after the 2016 election. (According to Cole, both Vidal and Prince refused to comment for the book.) The position of the U.S. government is that the May 2019 incident was a genuine Iranian attack, not an Emirati false flag.

After the Vanity Fair article was published last week, Israeli negotiator Gershon Baskin pointed out in The Jerusalem Post that the Central Bank of Israel "does not offer private banking services to individuals," which would make it impossible for Kushner's money to be deposited in the Central Bank of Israel, as Cole claimed. The book addresses that argument, claiming that the money was deposited "in what would appear to be a government account," with Kushner and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu jointly authorizing transactions.

The Abraham Accords, which include an alliance between Israel and the UAE, have often been touted as a way for the U.S. to "spend less time and less resources in the Middle East," in the words of Vice President J.D. Vance. But Cole argues that the UAE actually used its alliance to entangle American interests in a future conflict. The book states that Kushner set up "a rainy-day defense fund" for war with Iran, using Emirati money deposited in a separate Central Bank of Israel account.

Cole also claims to have evidence that Kushner was on the take from the UAE's regional frenemy Qatar. In 2017, the UAE and Saudi Arabia issued an ultimatum for Qatar to rein in its foreign policy and blockaded the small nation. The Intercept later reported that Kushner's father had sought a Qatari bailout for the family real estate business just before the crisis, and the Qatari-linked company Brookfield ended up providing the needed investment in August 2018, leading to a congressional investigation into the deal.

Democrats are still digging for information on Kushner's business ties to Qatar, but three sources told Cole that the Qatari royal family authorized and paid for the Brookfield deal. The Qatari government "asked the White House how to resolve the blockade. And the Kushners kept saying, 'We have this great property that needs investment.' Eventually, the Qataris realized the only way to settle the blockade was to buy the building," a former U.S. intelligence officer said.

Kushner's lawyers write that they have "no evidence that Qatar impacted the investment decision. Any suggestion of his involvement in the transaction or any allegation of quid pro quo with the Qatari government is false and defamatory."

Other parts of the book are better-documented. Cole obtained a draft of Prince's autobiography, text messages from one of Prince's colleagues, and emails from Emirati government adviser George Nader, who was convicted of fraudulently funneling money into Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. If nothing else, the book is a comprehensive account of the UAE's unofficial empire and its American ties. But the most explosive claims about Kushner's involvement in those activities rest on anonymous sources, making it a matter of Cole's word against Kushner's.

"I considered the responses from Kushner's attorneys carefully and consulted multiple sources about them. During the five years I have spent working on this book, I have tried to keep an open mind, and I am confident that my reporting is accurate. Kushner's lawyers' responses did not change that conclusion," Cole writes in the book's epilogue.

The post New Book Says Jared Kushner Funneled Money to Middle East Mercenaries. Kushner Denies It. appeared first on Reason Magazine.