Jared Kushner Raises Ethics Concerns With Overseas Deals Amid Father-In-Law’s Presidential Campaign

Jared Kushner, husband to Ivanka Trump and son-in-law of former president Donald Trump, is continuing to conduct business while Trump runs for the White House once more.

On Friday, Kushner said he was developing major real estate deals in Albania and Serbia. Ethics watchdogs say Kushner’s business may have been helped by connections he formed overseas during Trump’s presidency. Kushner was Trump’s senior advisor for all four years.

Kushner has plans to develop luxury hotels in Belgrade, Serbia, and turn an island off of Albania into a tourist destination. The governments of both countries are involved in the process as Kushner is using government-controlled land.

Kushner’s investment firm, Affinity Partners, has $2 billion in funding from foreign investors, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Kushner said in an interview, “We are very excited. We have not finalized these deals, so they might not happen, but we have been working hard and are pretty close.”

Some question the ethics of Kushner’s business due in part to his connection to Trump and the Trump family. Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, raised concerns about conflict of interest during the Trump administration.

“At this point in the election cycle Jared Kushner should freeze any new investment plans,” he said. “This particular investment plan seems to involve the worst of every corrupt tendency of the Trump administration and Trump family.”

Trump was accused of receiving profiting from the presidency. A congressional study found that Trump received at least $7.8 million from foreign governments during his presidency.

Kushner raised eyebrows when he raised billions from the Saudi government for Affinity shortly after leaving the White House.

Kushner recently said he would not serve in a second Trump administration.