June 12,2024

Wyden Probes Kushner Firm Payments from Gulf States, Potential FARA Loophole

Affinity’s Unusually High Fees Charged to Foreign Clients Amount to Tens of Millions in Profits Each Year; Wyden Seeks Records on Employees, Compensation, Communications with Foreign Government Entities; Letter also Raises Concerns with Investment Fund Disclosure Loophole

Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today launched a new investigation of top Trump official Jared Kushner’s investment firm Affinity Partners, which reported that 99 percent of the billions of dollars it manages comes from foreign sources, primarily the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. In a new letter, Senator Wyden sought records and information pertaining to the tens of millions in payments Kushner is receiving from the Saudis and other foreign sources every year while exploiting private investment fund disclosure loopholes to shield the arrangement from public scrutiny. The letter also noted that the firm’s reliance on foreign investors raises concerns that Middle Eastern governments are using payments to Affinity executives as a means to influence Kushner and other politically powerful individuals. 

Senator Wyden wrote to Affinity Partners Chief Financial Officer Lauren Key: “It is deeply concerning that several Middle Eastern governments are using funds managed by Affinity as a means to pay tens of millions of dollars in fees every year to former President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, creating significant conflicts of interest and potential counterintelligence risks. These arrangements also raise concerns that Affinity’s exclusively foreign funded private investment funds are being exploited as a loophole by Mr. Kushner and other former U.S. government officials as a means to avoid complying with the Foreign Agents Registration Act and other U.S. laws requiring U.S. persons to disclose payments from foreign governments.”

The complete text of Senator Wyden’s letter to Affinity Partners is available here. The questions posed in the letter are below.

  1. Please provide a list of all investors in funds managed by Affinity since the firm’s inception in 2021. For each investor, please provide the following: 
    • The amount invested in funds managed by Affinity in each calendar year from 2021 to 2023. 
    • The total amount of fees paid to Affinity by each investor for each calendar year from 2021 to 2023.
    • The annual rates of return for each investor in Affinity funds for each calendar year from 2021 to 2023.
  1. Please provide a list of all investments made by funds managed by Affinity since the firm’s inception in 2021. For each investment, please provide the following:
    • A description of the investment, the date it was made, and the dollar value of the initial investment.
    • The annualized rates of return for the investment for each calendar year from 2021 to 2023.
    • The dollar value of the profits that have been distributed to each investor in Affinity related to the investment for each calendar year from 2021 to 2023.
  1. Please list all U.S. persons or entities who are investors in funds managed by Affinity.
  2. Affinity’s 2024 form ADV disclosed that 99% of its assets under management were attributable to clients and investors that are non-United States persons. Please explain why only 1% of Affinity’s assets under management comes from U.S. persons and describe efforts to solicit U.S. investors.
  3. Affinity’s 2024 form ADV disclosed that its AFFINITY PARTNERS PARALLEL FUND I LP, which has $2.97 billion in assets under management, is 100% owned by non-United States persons. Please explain why this fund has no U.S. investors. Please also provide the identity of the 6 beneficial owners for this fund, and how much in fees they have paid Affinity for each calendar year from 2021 to 2023.
  4. Please provide how much compensation Jared Kushner has received from Affinity for each calendar year from 2021 to 2023. Please describe in detail how much Kushner was paid annually by Affinity in salary, bonuses, other compensation, dividends and any other distributions associated with equity interest in Affinity.
  5. Please provide a list of all Affinity shareholders since the firm’s inception in 2021. For each shareholder, please provide the number of Affinity shares owned, the estimated fair market value of those shares, and the percentage of shares issued by the firm owned by each shareholder.
  6. Please provide a list of all individuals currently and previously employed by Affinity since the firm’s inception in 2021. For each employee, please provide the following information:
    • Total annual compensation for each calendar year from 2021 to 2023 for each employee.
    • A summary of each employee’s roles and responsibilities.
    • Whether the individual meets with or liaises directly with representatives of foreign sovereign wealth funds, including the Saudi PIF, as part of their professional responsibilities.
  1. Please provide copies of all communications between Affinity employees and any representatives from the Saudi PIF, or any third parties acting on behalf of the Saudi PIF, since Affinity’s inception in 2021.
  2. Please provide copies of all communications between Affinity employees and any representatives from the Qatar Investment Authority, or any other entities associated with the Government of Qatar, since Affinity’s inception in 2021.
  3. Please provide copies of all communications between Affinity employees and any representatives from the Mubadala Investment Company, Emirates Investment Authority, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Abu Dhabi Investment Council or any other entities associated with the Government of the United Arab Emirates, since Affinity’s inception in 2021.
  4. Please provide copies of all employment agreements between Miguel Correa and Affinity, including descriptions of Mr. Correa’s compensation from Affinity. Please also describe Miguel Correa’s roles and responsibilities at Affinity, and the extent to which Mr. Correa communicates with employees of sovereign wealth funds or other foreign government officials as part of his employment at Affinity.
  5. Has Miguel Correa’s employment agreement with Affinity Partners been reviewed and cleared by the U.S. Department of Defense?

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