I'm inclined to think it's intentional, because you can generally find this subtextual implication of deep politics looming around in the background of most of Scorcese's films. Like the Cuban gusano gunrunners/CIA agent that is obviously a stand-in for E. Howard Hunt (even making a joke about his ears!) in The Irishman as a fast example. To me, Kingsley's portrayal of the character is very obviously a stand-in for Sidney Gottlieb with his kind of urbane and new agey affect.