The real-estate company run by Jared Kushner’s family is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a report early Saturday.
The nature of the probe into Kushner Companies has not been made public, but the Wall Street Journal reported the SEC is looking into the company’s use of the EB-5 visa program, which exchanges investments for U.S. visas and possible green cards.
A source told the Journal that the company was subpoenaed by the SEC in May 2017 regarding its EB-5 use, and that same month, New York federal prosecutors issued a subpoena for information about development projects financed in part by the visa program.
While it’s unclear whether those subpoenas led to the identification of certain projects, the SEC is said to be working with the Brooklyn U.S. attorney’s office for the inquiry.
A Kushner Companies spokeswoman referred the Journal to a prior comment provided by Emily Wolf, the company’s general counsel. “Kushner Cos. utilized the program, fully complied with its rules and regulations, and did nothing improper. We are cooperating with legal requests for information,” she had said.
Jared Kushner, a top White House adviser and son-in-law to President Trump, ran his family’s business before the 2016 election. Upon joining the Trump administration, he resigned and sold his stake in certain projects, but maintained a stake in other parts of the business, according to his latest personal financial disclosure form.
Kushner Companies drew scrutiny in May 2017 when Kushner’s name was mentioned by his sister, Nicole Kushner Meyer, during a sales pitch to Chinese investors regarding the EB-5 visa program.
