WASHINGTON: Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner received $500 million in loans after he met the heads of private corporations in an official government capacity, an investigation by the New York Times has revealed.
Kushner met with Joshua Harris, one of the founders of Apollo Global Management several times at a time when he advised over infrastructure policy to the Trump administration. $184 million was loaned to Kushner Companies by Apollo in 2017 to refinance a Chicago skyscrapers’ mortgage. The amount was three times more than the average property loan value the company had handed out.
The Citigroup also provided loans worth $325 million to Kushner Companies shortly after Jared Kushner met with Citigroup’s Chief Executive Michael Corbat.
A spokesman for Kushner’s attorney Abbe Lowell, Peter Mirijanian, has said that Jared Kushner has played no active role in Kushner Companies since he joined the Trump administration, though he admits the meetings did indeed take place to “hear about ideas for improving the American economy.”
Kushner Companies, on the other hand, has also denied that Kushner’s position in the White House has played a role in the Company’s financial activities.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller has expressed interest in investigating Jared Kushner’s efforts to secure financing from China and Qatar while the Department of Financial Services is in contact with private entities to collect information on loans and credit lines extended to Kushner Companies and Trump’s family members.
Jared Kushner also lost access to top-secret intelligence briefing earlier this week.