New York’s state banking regulator asked Deutsche Bank AG and two other lenders for information on their relationships with U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and his family’s real estate company, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) made the requests to Deutsche Bank, Signature Bank and New York Community Bank for information on loans and other financial arrangements including lines of credit and loan guarantees a week ago, the person said.
The regulator also asked for information related to other family members, the person said.
Hand over your banking details: Deutsche, one of the world’s largest banks, has been told by New York’s banking regulator to hand over details of its dealing with Jared Kushner and his family property empire. One of its properties is 666 Fifth Ave in Manhattan
Family affair: Josh Kushner, Jared’s brother, is one of the principals of Kushner Cos, the family real estate firm. Its credit records have been requested by the New York banking regulator
Representatives for Jared Kushner and Kushner Cos, the real estate company he once headed, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to government financial disclosures from last year, Kushner has lines of credit at the three banks, among others.
The regulator, Deutsche Bank and Signature Bank all declined to comment. New York Community Bank had no immediate comment.
Last year Kushner resigned from Kushner Cos and sold his stake to a family trust as part of an effort to avoid conflicts of interests in his White House role. The private real estate company owns or partially owns buildings in New York and New Jersey.
Kushner, who had a broad portfolio in the White House, including leading Middle East peace negotiations and an effort to modernize and reduce the size of some government programs, lost his interim top-secret security clearance, two U.S. officials familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump, has not received his full security clearance because of his extensive financial links, which have taken a long time to examine, officials said.
His lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement on Tuesday that Kushner ‘has done more than what is expected of him in this process.’
Kushner Cos, ia in talks to buy the stake it doesn’t already own in its flagship New York City property from Vornado Realty Trust.
The property, a 41-story tower at 666 Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, has been at the heart of scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest involving Jared Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter and is a top aide to the president.
Christine Taylor, a spokeswoman for Kushner Cos, said the company was in talks to purchase the 49.5 percent stake in the office portion of the building held by Vornado, confirming an earlier report by the Wall Street Journal.
Taylor did not provide any further information.
Vornado, one of New York’s largest property owners, had indicated earlier this month that it planned to sell its stake.
Kushner sold his interests in Kushner Cos to a family trust last year as part of an effort to avoid conflicts of interest, but the building has continued to face scrutiny as a series of foreign investors, including a former Qatari prime minister, considered investing in its planned redevelopment.
In December, a group of Democratic lawmakers wrote to Kushner, asking whether in his talks with foreign officials he had ever discussed financing for the deeply indebted property, citing concern he was using his position for financial gain.
Josh Raffel (right), the spokesman for Jared Kushner (left) and Ivanka Trump is leaving the White House in the next two months, Axios reported Tuesday
And they’re gone: Josh Raffel (right) was spotted out in D.C. with White House Communications Director Hope Hicks (center right) and her then-boyfriend Rob Porter (left), who resigned in disgrace over allegations that he abused his two ex-wives. Now both Raffel and Hopes are quitting too
Kushner Cos acquired the building with a full block of prime Fifth Avenue retail frontage in 2006 for $1.8 billion, the most ever paid for a New York office tower at the time.
The 1.4-million-square-foot tower ran into difficulties during the recession and Kushner later refinanced $1.215 billion in debt, which comes due in February 2019. The debt has since ballooned to $1.448 billion.
Vornado acquired its minority stake in 2011, when it helped recapitalize the tower with $70 million. A year later, it bought retail space for $707.8 million.
The banking regulator’s demand comes in a week of blows to Kushner.
He will have to push diplomacy on Middle East peace and China without benefit of a top-level security clearance – after he had his security clearance downgraded following a review ordered by White House chief of staff John Kelly.
The downgrade took place along with other aides who were working on temporary or interim security clearances at the Top Secret/SCI-level level, Politico reported Tuesday.
It also followed the discovery of efforts by foreign government including Mexico and China to try to manipulate Kushner, the Washington Post revealed.
The foreign governments sought to capitalize on Kushner’s novice status to the world of politics and foreign policy – armed with knowledge his family business was anxious to find financial partners to ease overwhelming debt.
As part of the downgrade, he will suffer the loss of access to the president’s daily intelligence briefing.
And his and Ivanka’s personal spin doctor, Josh Raffel, announced he was resigning to pursue ‘other opportunities’.