News - World: Israeli media outlets have revealed that the Kushner Fund, backed by Saudi money, has made its first investment in an Israeli company.

The Israeli website i24news reported on Wednesday that "the fund has invested 570 million shekels in the Israeli company 'Shlomo Group' in the automotive and credit sector."

The Israeli Shlomo Group announced on Wednesday that it has signed an agreement to sell 15 percent of the shares of its automotive and credit company to the US investment fund, Afinity Partners, owned by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of former US President Donald Trump, for a value of 570 million shekels. The total value of the group's commercial and credit activities is estimated at around 3.8 billion shekels.

The Israeli website pointed out that "practically, this is Kushner's first investment in an Israeli company, after his fund collected $3 billion from Gulf countries last year." Two billion of which came from the Saudi Public Investment Fund.

Kushner served as Senior Advisor during Trump's presidency. Through his position, he established close relations with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who heads the country's Public Investment Fund.

The report stated that the Shlomo Group will establish a new subsidiary called Shlomo Holdings under the agreement, which will merge joint activities in the vehicle sector, including leasing and sales, with credit fund activities.

A report in the Wall Street Journal two weeks ago stated that Kushner was being audited after his company attracted billions of dollars in investments from Gulf countries. 

The American newspaper explained that Kushner had raised funds from Saudi, Emirati, and Qatari investors, presenting himself as a unique businessman capable of bridging economic and cultural divides in the region. For this purpose, he obtained a unique approval from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to invest Saudi funds in Israel for the first time.

However, after The Washington Post confirmed that "in the end, Kushner left Tel Aviv last spring without writing any checks." After more than a year of accumulating millions in administrative fees, Kushner said that he was "about to invest in his first Israeli company."

Kushner has previously admitted that he "was slow to sign deals," and the reason is that Avanti opened its doors amid a bustling investment market. But then, the market collapsed and business confidence in Israel took a strong blow amid the ongoing political conflict over changes in the judicial system.

A report by an Israeli non-profit organization called Startup Nation Central indicated that the current crisis "has pushed funding for Israeli startups to its lowest level in five years in the first half of 2023."

In mid-April, a report published by the BBC news website stated that "Kushner invested $2 billion from the Saudi fund managed by Mohammed bin Salman," which raised questions "about business ethics in the post-White House period."