Black Cube

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Black Cube
Company typePrivate limited company
IndustryLitigation support
Competitive intelligence
Risk consulting
Founded2010
Headquarters
Number of employees
340+
Websiteblackcube.com

Black Cube (BC Strategy Ltd) is a private intelligence agency based in London, Tel Aviv and Madrid.[1][2] The company was founded in 2010[3] by former Israeli intelligence officers[4] Dan Zorella (in Hebrew: דן זורלא) and Avi Yanus (in Hebrew: אבי ינוס). Its employees include former members of Israeli intelligence units.[5] In the past, it has supported Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) activities.[6] Black Cube drew widespread condemnation for covertly surveilling and assisting efforts to discredit multiple women accusing Harvey Weinstein of sexual violence and the investigative journalists researching whether those accusations were credible.[7][8]

Black Cube provides intelligence, evidence, and advisory services in multi-jurisdictional legal and white collar crime cases.[2] Its clients include primarily very high net worth individuals, oligarchs and corporations around the world, about whom Black Cube exposed fraud, bribery, money laundering, corruption and asset dissipation.[9][10] The company uncovered high-level corruption in Italy, Panama, and Mexico.[11][12][13] It is estimated that Black Cube has managed to trace and recover billions of dollars in hidden assets around the world.[14][15]

Black Cube's tactics have resulted in a number of international controversies. In Romania, two of its employees were convicted of criminal charges involving harassment and hacking.[16][17][18][19]

History[edit]

BC Strategy Ltd. (Black Cube) has offices in Tel Aviv, London, and Paris. It was founded in 2010 by Avi Yanus a former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) strategic planning officer and Dan Zorella, who was in IDF Military Intelligence.[20] Yanus and Zorella met at the Technion University in Haifa, where they both did undergraduate studies in economics. Yanus went on to complete his PhD in organizational behavior.[20][21] By 2018, Black Cube had been involved in operations in over sixty countries.[20]

Since 2011, Black Cube has provided evidence for high-profile cases in Canada, Italy, Israel, Mexico, Panama, the United Kingdom and the United States. The company describes itself as a "select group of veterans from the Israeli elite intelligence units that specialises in tailored solutions to complex business and litigation challenges."[1]

Black Cube's International Advisory Board included Meir Dagan, a former chief of Mossad—Israel's national intelligence agency—from 2002 to 2011, and Black Cube's president until he passed away in 2016.[20] Their IAB includes Efraim Halevy, who was also a head of Mossad for 30 years. Other IAB members include Yohanan Danino, Giora Eiland, Adrian Leppard, Robert Amaee, Asher Tishler, Paul Reyniers, Golan Malka, and Itiel Maayan.[1]

In a court deposition Yanus described the bilateral relationship between the IDF and Black Cube's civilian market, where former Israeli intelligence operators advise Black Cube and provide it with a business network.[20] According to Forbes Israel, Black Cube is one of many business intelligence firms such as GPW, and K2, for an industry that expanded to 80 billion dollars in 2015 alone.[20] These intelligence firms attract people who previously worked in IDF Military Intelligence. Salaries are high in the business intelligence sector. Dozens of these firms were established as the demand grew. Forbes Israel called this a "new trend in Israeli exports."[20]

Media coverage[edit]

In 2014, Israel's Globes published a favorable article about Black Cube after they won several high-profile cases.[2] In their 2018 article, Forbes Israel called Black Cube the "Mossad" of the "business world".[20]

Black Cube has been criticized by the international press. In his November 6, 2017 The New Yorker article, Ronan Farrow described them as an "army of spies" who attempted to stifle stories about Harvey Weinstein's sexual assaults by seeking to discredit the women Weinstein attacked and the journalists who investigated his crimes.[7] A lengthy June 2021 report in the Canadian newspaper, The Globe and Mail—one in a series of articles that were highly critical of its methods—detailed the many ways Black Cube agents worked to fabricate evidence against innocent civilians, including a Canadian judge and journalists.[22] In August 2021, the podcast Darknet Diaries featured a first-hand account of Black Cube operatives targeting journalists and Citizen Lab staff member John Scott-Railton.[23] In his 2021 publication, Spooked: The Trump Dossier, Black Cube, and the Rise of Private Spies, former investigative reporter with The New York Times, Barry Meier, described the "oversized impact" Black Cube and other private spies in their "murky world"—were "suddenly having on politics, business and our personal lives."[24][page needed][25]

Notable investigations and clients[edit]

Vincent Tchenguiz[edit]

The first case that brought Black Cube to the attention of the media, was the legal dispute between Vincent Tchenguiz, a major donor to the Conservative Party (UK) and an investor in the SCL Group[26] and the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO).[2] Tchenguiz first hired Black Cube in 2011, following his arrest on March 10, 2011, as part of the SFO investigation into the collapse of the Icelandic bank Kaupthing.[2][27][28] and continued to use their services on a number of cases.[2] Black Cube analysed the network of relationships surrounding the collapse of the bank,[4] and helped build a successful challenge to the SFO arrests and search warrants, causing the judge to declare the SFO's actions unlawful in 2013.[10] Tchenguiz's lawsuit against Black Cube, alleging fraudulent invoices, was dropped in an undisclosed settlement agreement.[29][30]

Nochi Dankner[edit]

In 2014, Black Cube was hired by Israeli businessman Nochi Dankner, to examine a court decision assigning control of IDB Holding Corp. Ltd. to Motti Ben Moshe.[2] Black Cube investigated the sources of capital of Ben Moshe, revealing an ongoing investigation by German regulatory authorities into Ben Moshe's company ExtraEnergy,[31] and locating a witness who held evidence of money laundering and tax evasion by Ben Moshe.[32]

Joseph Kabila[edit]

In 2019, the Israeli investigative television program Uvda (which airs on channel 12) released a report detailing how Dan Zorella had met with then-president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Joseph Kabila in 2015 to hire Black Cube for Operation Coltan, an operation to spy on Kabila's political opponents. Black Cube investigators rented out the entire floor of a hotel in Kinshasa to serve as a base of operations.[33] Opposition figures expressed outrage at the revelations.[34][35]

Nobu Su[edit]

In 2015, Black Cube assisted Taiwanese businessman Nobu Su, owner of the shipping company TMT, in his efforts to gain permission to appeal a 2014 judgement in favor of Lakatamia Shipping[36] in which Su was found personally liable for the amount of almost $47m.[37] Black Cube delivered intelligence to Su's legal team showing that 20% of the judgement amount was due to a company called Slagen Shipping, which had ceased operations at the time of the establishment of the claim, thereby rendering it unable to act as a claimant, both reducing the quantum of the judgement significantly, and causing the appeal to be granted.[38]

Kfar Giladi Quarries[edit]

Black Cube was hired to assist Kfar Giladi Quarries in their highly publicized dispute with Caesarstone in Israel. Black Cube engaged a Caesarstone engineer in conversation during a group bicycle trip in Kfar Giladi.[10] In the recording, the engineer contradicted the allegations that were made by Caesarstone in the arbitration proceeding with Kfar Giladi. After six years of deliberations, Judge Boaz Okun ordered Caesarstone to pay more than $14m as compensation to Kfar Giladi.[39]

AmTrust Financial Services[edit]

In 2016, Black Cube was involved in exposing bribery and corruption in a set of Italian arbitrations between AmTrust and an Italian named Antonio Somma totaling €2bn.[9] Somma admitted to the company's undercover agents that he could control the arbitration panels,[40] and that he had an agreement to pay the chair of the arbitration panel 10% of any money they awarded him.[41] Following Black Cube's findings, the arbitrator was dismissed and in July 2016, the two sides reached a settlement on the total of 60 million euros instead of the initial 2 billion euro claim.[42]

Rami Levy Hashikma Marketing[edit]

In 2016, Black Cube was hired by Rami Levy, the owner of Rami Levy Chain Stores Hashikma Marketing who is considered a champion of low prices in Israel,[43] to verify his suspicions that he was being targeted by a rival chain in a negative media campaign. Black Cube provided Levy with evidence that the PR agent who worked for Levy's competitor, Victory supermarket chain, exposed the negative campaign that they carried out aimed at damaging Levy's public reputation. Levy later used those materials in a lawsuit against his competitor.[44]

Alstom and Afcon[edit]

In 2016, France's Alstom and its Israeli partner Afcon hired Black Cube to assist them with their dispute against the Israel Railways' electrification bid, which the Spanish company SEMI won. Black Cube presented recordings of officials from the Israel Railway discussing malfunctions that occurred in the bid. Based on these findings in January 2018, the Superior Court in Israel issued an agreement of compromise according to which the work on the railway will be divided between all three of the companies and that Black Cube's clients' work will be priced at 580 million NIS, after they originally lost the bid.[45][20]

Harvey Weinstein[edit]

In 2017, Black Cube made headlines after it was revealed that in 2016 the film executive Harvey Weinstein had hired private investigators—including Kroll and Black Cube—with its highly trained "former Mossad agents"— in his efforts to suppress allegations by numerous women that he had sexually harassed or assaulted them.[19][46] Weinstein was referred to the company by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who denied any personal connection with the company or its associates.[47] In his July 2016 contract with Black Cube, Weinstein clarified that the explicit goal of the investigation was to stop the abuse allegations from surfacing. In his November 6, 2017 The New Yorker article, entitled "Harvey Weinstein’s Army of Spies", Ronan Farrow described in detail how Black Cube agents tracked and met journalists and actresses. They focused in particular on Rose McGowan, who later publicly accused Weinstein of rape. Over the course of a year, Black Cube and other agencies, "target, or collect information on, dozens of individuals, and compile psychological profiles that sometimes focused on their personal or sexual histories."[7][8][19] One agent, Stella Penn Pechanac, used an alias to pose as a women's rights supporter interested in hiring McGowan for a formal dinner speech, enabling her to secretly record conversations with the actress.[48][49][50][51] Black Cube apologized for taking the case in November 2017.[52] As of 2019, Manhattan federal prosecutors investigating Weinstein were probing into the firm's activities on his behalf,[53] and McGowan's separate racketeering suit against it remained active.[54] During Weinstein's 2020 trial for assault in Manhattan, Black Cube's spying on behalf of Weinstein was entered into evidence in January.[55] In November 2017, Black Cube set up a fake recruitment firm, and flew an employee and a former employee of a hedge fund company to London for fake job interviews, in order to gain proprietary information about the hedge fund, according to The New York Times. Black Cube refused to comment. In New York State, private investigators are required to be licensed, but the Times could not find a record of a license for Black Cube or B.C. Strategy.[56]

Gefen Biomed[edit]

In 2017, Gefen Biomed filed a NIS 60 million lawsuit which claims that entrepreneurs Moshe (Mori) Arkin and others deliberately misled or deceived minority shareholders in biomed company cCam Biotherapeutics. The lawsuit is based on evidence collected by Black Cube, which conducted recorded interviews with key figures in cCam that prove a deliberate and systematic attempt to conceal exit talks with Merck for up to $625 million.[57]

Iran Nuclear Deal[edit]

In 2017 aides to U.S. President Donald Trump had contracted with Black Cube in order to undermine the Iran Nuclear Deal by discrediting former Obama administration officials Colin Kahl and Ben Rhodes. They looked for evidence of unsubstantiated and false claims that Kahl and Rhodes were being enriched by Iran lobbyists and that they were cheating on their spouses.[58][59][60][61][62] The goal was to seek damaging information about former Obama administration officials and help the Trump administration undermine the Iran nuclear deal.[63] Black Cube claimed in response that it had no relation to the Trump administration, to Trump aides, or to the Iran nuclear deal.[64] In August 2018, The New Yorker connected Black Cube's research to a memo circulated in the Trump White House in early 2017 alleging former Obama officials 'conspired with reporters' "to undermine President Trump's foreign policy" in hopes of saving Obamacare and the Iran nuclear deal.[65] In October 2018, Haaretz newspaper revealed[66] that Black Cube's activities were aimed at tracking transfers of Iranian funds and assets in order to seize them, following US court rulings against Iran in favor of victims of terror attacks. Furthermore, it was published that the goal of the intelligence gathering was tracing unknown Iranian assets and revealing Obama's administration collaboration with Iran, in violation of US or international law, in order to find other possible parties to sue such as banks.[citation needed]

Project Maple Tree - Project Camouflage[edit]

A detailed June 12, 2021 report in Toronto, Canada's Globe and Mail described Black Cube's "Bay Street sting that went bust" as "Project Camouflage".[22] It was revealed in Ontario provincial court documents that Black Cube's client Toronto-based private equity firm Catalyst owned by Newton Glassman had paid about $CDN 11 million to Black Cube for an effort code-named 'Project Maple Tree' to "embarrass" and improperly discredit Ontario Justice Frank Newbould.[67] Catalyst Capital Group and West Face Capital had been involved in a lengthy and multi-pronged legal battle after West Face acquired WIND Mobile, a Canadian wireless provider in 2014.[22][68] In his August 18, 2016 Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision, Justice Newbould ruled against Catalyst in favor of West Face,[69][70] and said that Catalyst's owner, Newton Glassman was "aggressive," "argumentative" and "considerably difficult."[71] Justice Newbould awarded West Face $1,239,965, saying that Glassman was "certainly playing hardball attacking the reputation and honesty of West Face" because he had lost the opportunity to acquire Wind.[69] In retaliation, Glassman hired Black Cube, to dispatch agents to discredit Newbould and West Face, according to a March 31, 2021 Wall Street Journal article.[67] Through this story, Black Cube received coverage in Canadian media.[68][69][71]

Bank Hapoalim[edit]

In 2018, Black Cube was hired by Bank Hapoalim[72] to trace the assets of Motti Zisser, who left behind a high debt to the bank. Black Cube provided intelligence of Zisser having a number of assets in Europe which were transferred from him to his son David through a sophisticated network of shell companies. As a result of the intelligence gathered by Black Cube, Bank Hapoalim was granted an injunction that applied an effective freeze on all the companies of the Zisser Family, which resulted in a settlement of the Zisser family returning 95 million NIS to the bank.[73]

Viktor Orban's re-election[edit]

In 2018, Black Cube supported Viktor Orban's re-election campaign gaining taped telephone conversations of individuals associated with George Soros who was actively opposing Orban's re-election.[74][75][76][77] According to Tamar Zandberg, Hungary was “carrying out an anti-Semitic campaign against Soros”, and Benjamin Netanyahu, whose Likud party, she stated, has dangerous ties to "extreme right-wing parties in Europe", openly supported Orban's anti-Semitic re-election campaign.[78] She stated that Black Cube's support for Orban is an "Israeli embarrassment."[78]

Janio Lescure and Judge Oydén Ortega[edit]

In 2019, Black Cube uncovered proof of bribery and corruption between lawyer Janio Lescure of Panama and various judges and magistrates in the country, including Judge Oydén Ortega of the Supreme Court.[79][12][80] Black Cube was able to procure audios of Lescure admitting his close relationships with judges, state officials, and mafiosos as well as his ability to control court verdicts, bypass inspections of illegal activities, and avoiding paying taxes.[11][81]

NSO Group[edit]

In October 2018, Associated Press reported that two University of Toronto cybersecurity researchers were being pursued by undercover operatives with false identities who were inquiring about the researchers' work concerning the Israeli spyware company NSO Group.[82] The operatives also appeared to be trying to goad the researchers into making anti-Semitic or otherwise damaging remarks. After a sting operation organised by one of the researchers and the AP, one operative was photographed and later identified as a former Israeli security official who had previously worked on a case linked to Black Cube. Responding to the revelation, NSO Group denied contracting Black Cube, and Black Cube likewise denied involvement.[83]

In February 2019, Associated Press reported that at least four more individuals - three lawyers, and one journalist - were pursued by undercover operatives for their work on NSO. Undercover agents again tried to goad the individuals into making racist or anti-Israel remarks. Channel 12, an Israeli television channel, obtained and aired the secret recordings made by the undercover operatives shortly before the AP published the revelations.[84] Channel 12 confirmed that Black Cube undercover investigators were involved,[85][84] and claimed the individuals being investigated by Black Cube were attempting to smear NSO Group on behalf of Qatar.[85] At the time, Black Cube declined to comment besides a generic reply that it follows the law in all jurisdictions it operates in. An April 2022 article in The New Yorker included more denials from both NSO and Black Cube but included a quote from NSO chief Hulio Shalev that contradicted those denials: “NSO Group has denied hiring Black Cube to target opponents. However, Hulio acknowledged the connection to me, saying, “For the lawsuit in Cyprus, there was one involvement of Black Cube,” because the lawsuit “came from nowhere, and I want to understand.” Black Cube denied involvement in the case in the same article.[86]

Eliezer Fishman[edit]

In 2019, Black Cube exposed Eliezer Fishman's hidden assets valued at around €100 million. Fishman, once considered one of Israel's wealthiest businessmen, was declared bankrupt in 2016. Black Cube secretly recorded several meetings with associates of Fishman, which led the London High Court to rule that the businessman had illicitly hidden assets and properties across Europe, mainly Germany, through legal entities, trustees, and representatives.[87][88]

Beny Steinmetz[edit]

In May 2020, Black Cube submitted on behalf of Beny Steinmetz evidence to a New York court that the Brazilian company Vale SA withheld critical information concerning a mining license in Guinea obtained by Steinmetz.[89][90] During a four-month operation, Black Cube gathered recordings with Vale senior executives, who admitted that Vale assumed the mining license was obtained illegally when they entered into the contract, contradicting an arbitration award of $1.8 billion in favor of Vale.[91] As a result, in February 2022 Vale dropped its lawsuit against Steinmetz seeking to enforce the award.[92]

Petróleos Mexicanos[edit]

In October 2019, it was revealed that Black Cube recorded evidence of bribery and corruption of senior officials at Mexico's Petróleos Mexicanos, known as Pemex.[13] The recordings were submitted as part of a lawsuit filed in 2018 by Oro Negro, a Mexican oil-field drilling company, claiming that Pemex drove Oro Negro into bankruptcy when the company refused to pay bribes. Black Cube recordings offer evidence of long-standing corruption in Mexico's largest state enterprise, in all levels of Pemex management up to the CEO and board.[93] This evidence was additionally presented to the DOJ in their investigation into Pemex.[13]

Mediterranean Oil Spill[edit]

In February 2021 an oil spill washed up tar along 160 km of Israel’s Mediterranean coast, resulting in beach closures across the country. The Israeli Environmental Protection Ministry declared it Israel’s worst environmental disaster in its history. Officials estimated that more than 1000 tons of oil had been spilled.[94] The source was unknown, with no ship providing warning of the spill or reporting it. Black Cube, in cooperation with the Israeli environment minister, undertook an investigation on a pro-bono basis and concluded that the ship responsible is owned by the Syrian Malah family via a complex structure of shell companies. The ship is suspected to have been illegally transporting oil from Iran to Syria. Both Israel and the chairman of the compensation fund agreed that the oil was apparently dumped into the sea on purpose during the cleaning out of oil barrels on board, according to a ministry statement.[94]

The tanker was insured by UAE-based Islamic P&I club, which “is solely used by Iranian ship owners that cannot find cover elsewhere” according to Lloyd’s List. With support from Black Cube’s evidence, The London-based International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund agreed to pay damages, as it does in cases where suits against a ship’s owner are “unlikely to bear fruit.”[95]

Controversies[edit]

Laura Codruța Kövesi[edit]

In April 2016, two of the company employees were arrested, and later convicted, in Bucharest on suspicions of spying, phishing, and cyberharassing the chief prosecutor of the Romanian National Anticorruption Directorate, Laura Codruța Kövesi, and people close to her.[96][17] After sentencing, the company reached an understanding with the Romanian authorities and the two employees were released and returned to Israel after a few months.[97] At the time of the arrest, Black Cube denied any wrongdoing, saying that they were working under contract from the highest political powers in Bucharest and that "all of Black Cube’s employees follow local law to the letter, and the allegations against them are unfounded and untrue".[98][99]

Hungarian election campaign[edit]

Between December 2017 and February 2018 Black Cube set up a cover company called Smart Innotech, seated in London, UK, and contacted Hungarian Migration Aid Hungary by email, urging them to have a meeting in Vienna, Austria. Migration Aid contacted the Hungarian foreign intelligence (Alkotmányvédelmi Hivatal) and recorded and tightly controlled the meetings. Black Cube attempted to collect data on migrants, and on Hungarian opposition party members, to uncover alleged ties with George Soros; which were proven to be false.[100] Black Cube failed to gather any information; the company—which was never registered—disappeared after February.[101][102][103][104][105] Black Cube used the same methods with multiple NGOs, like Open Society Foundations Hungary and the Hungarian Helsinki Committee.[103]

Russia probe[edit]

On 5 April 2019 the Senate Intelligence Committee sent a letter to Walter Soriano, the owner of USG Security Limited based in Britain and Israel, requesting his communications with Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, Psy-Group, Wikistrat, Orbis Business Intelligence (a firm co-founded by Christopher Steele), and Black Cube.[106][107] In response, the company denied any connection and stated that “neither they nor anyone acting on their behalf has ever had any communication or collaboration with Walter Soriano or anyone on his behalf."[108]

International Advisory Board[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Contact Us". www.blackcube.com. 26 May 2015. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Peretz, Efrat (3 February 2014). "Investigating the investigators". Globes. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015.
  3. ^ Sadeh, Shuki (8 August 2014). "Don't cry for me". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  4. ^ a b c Bolshaw, Liz (26 March 2015). "A new breed of commercial intelligence company". The Financial Times. Archived from the original on 13 April 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  5. ^ Meier 2021, p. 106.
  6. ^ "Israel Hired Black Cube, Allowing Spy Firm to Operate Out of Military Intel Base". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  7. ^ a b c "Ronan Farrow, Harvey Weinstein's Army of Spies". The New Yorker. 6 November 2017. Archived from the original on 30 September 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  8. ^ a b "Harvey Weinstein Hired ex-Mossad Agents to Track Women Accusing Him of Sexual Assault". Haaretz. 7 November 2017. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  9. ^ a b Larson, Erik; Di Pasquael, Sergio (14 April 2016). "When Doing Business in Italy Means a Box of Bullets in the Mail". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ a b c "Inside Black Cube - The "Mossad" of the Business World - Forbes Israel". Forbes Israel. 13 November 2017. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  11. ^ a b "Black Cube exposes corruption in Panama's justice system". Ynetnews. 2 April 2019. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Israel's Black Cube said to have uncovered widespread corruption in Panama". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 5 September 2019.
  13. ^ a b c Whelan, Robbie (11 October 2019). "Secret Recordings Describe Extensive Bribery at Mexico's Pemex". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  14. ^ חזני, גולן (29 April 2019). ""בלאק קיוב חשפה בגרמניה נכסים מוסתרים של אליעזר פישמן בעשרות מיליוני יורו"". כלכליסט - www.calcalist.co.il. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  15. ^ לוי-וינריב, אלה (14 February 2018). "יורשי זיסר ישלמו 95 מ' ש' לבנק הפועלים במסגרת הסדר פשרה". Globes. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  16. ^ "Israeli citizen gets probation after pleading guilty in espionage case in Romania".
  17. ^ a b "Israeli convicted for targeting Romania's anti-corruption chief". www.timesofisrael.com. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  18. ^ "Black Cube CEO suspected of running crime organization. Revealed: The Romania interrogation". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  19. ^ a b c Rutenberg, Jim (7 November 2017). "Report Details Weinstein's Covert Attempt to Halt Publication of Accusations New York Times". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i Hirshorn, Yuval; June 9, 2018 (9 June 2018). "Inside Black Cube - The "Mossad" of the Business World". Forbes Israel. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ "Black Cube - a "Mossad-style" business intelligence co". Globes. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  22. ^ a b c Kiladze, Tim (12 June 2021). "Inside 'Project Camouflage,' a Bay Street sting that went bust". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  23. ^ Rhysider, Jack (17 August 2021). "EP 99: The Spy". darknetdiaries.com. Dark Net Diaries. Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  24. ^ Meier 2021.
  25. ^ Cohan, William D. (17 May 2021). "The Murky World of Private Spies and the Damage They May Be Doing". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  26. ^ "Tory donors among investors in Cambridge Analytica parent firm". the Guardian. 21 March 2018. Archived from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  27. ^ Meier 2021, pp. 106–107.
  28. ^ "Robert and Vincent Tchenguiz arrested in Iceland probe". BBC. Business Desk. 10 March 2011. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  29. ^ Meier 2021, p. 107.
  30. ^ Bowers, Simon (22 April 2013). "Vincent Tchenguiz settles Black Cube legal dispute". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  31. ^ Efrat Peretz, "Dankner: German regulator probing Ben-Moshe" Archived 26 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine "Globes" 30 January 2014
  32. ^ Efrat Peretz, "Dankner accuses Ben-Moshe of money laundering" Archived 26 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine "Globes" 13 March 2014
  33. ^ "RDC: quand Joseph Kabila utilisait des anciens du Mossad contre l'opposition". RFI (in French). 9 June 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  34. ^ "RDC: l'opposition alarmée par les révélations sur la surveillance sous Kabila". RFI (in French). 10 June 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  35. ^ "Israeli '21st-century mercenaries' spied for DR Congo's Kabila, report says". France 24. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  36. ^ Unknown Author, "Nobu Su Fights Back Against Lakatamia" Archived 26 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine "ACN Newswire" 9 January 2015
  37. ^ Unknown Author, "Gone to the dogs?" Archived 27 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine "Tradewinds" 7 November 2014
  38. ^ Japan Corporate News, "Headway for Nobu Su" Archived 18 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine "Nasdaq" 14 April 2015
  39. ^ "CaesarStone to pay Kfar Giladi NIS 50m compensation - Globes English". Globes. 21 January 2018. Archived from the original on 9 February 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  40. ^ Corriere della Sera, "Il lodo da 2 miliardi in Tribunale Corruzione o calunnia per l’arbitro" Archived 16 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine 14 April 2016
  41. ^ B1, "Black Cube dezvăluie cel mai mare caz de corupție judiciară din Italia" Archived 12 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine 16 April 2016
  42. ^ "Pace milionaria, salvo il broker Antonio Somma - Transazione tra AmTrust e l'assicuratore stabiese con un giro di affari all'estero". Il Corrierino (in Italian). Archived from the original on 16 May 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  43. ^ "Who is Rami Levy and why investors love him". Jewish Business News. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  44. ^ "Rami Levy allegedly targeted by rival chain in negative media campaign - Business". haaretz.com. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  45. ^ "Israel High Court Splits Disputed $500M Rail Power Contract". Archived from the original on 30 November 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  46. ^ Bureau, Brigitte (21 May 2021). "Former Canadian ambassador to Israel worked for Black Cube, an Israeli intelligence firm". CBC. Archived from the original on 19 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  47. ^ Beaumont, Peter; Mumford, Gwilym (8 November 2017). "Ex-Israeli PM introduced Harvey Weinstein to former Mossad spies". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 10 November 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  48. ^ "Rose McGowan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2019.
  49. ^ staff, T. O. I. "Israeli who helped Weinstein undermine victims: 'He wasn't a monster then'". www.timesofisrael.com. Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  50. ^ "Former Israeli Soldier Identified as Harvey Weinstein's Spy". Haaretz. 9 November 2017. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  51. ^ "Ronan Farrow on the Black Cube Agent Who Spied on Weinstein Accuser Rose McGowan". The Hollywood Reporter. 8 October 2019. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  52. ^ Eichner, Itamar (11 November 2017). "Israeli intelligence firm apologizes for taking Harvey Weinstein job". Ynetnews. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  53. ^ Feuer, Alan (6 September 2018). "Federal Prosecutors Investigate Weinstein's Ties to Israeli Firm". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  54. ^ Lisa Respers France (24 October 2019). "Rose McGowan sues Harvey Weinstein for alleged campaign against her". CNN. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  55. ^ "Harvey Weinstein's Use of Black Cube to Spy on Accusers Becomes Topic at Trial". 30 January 2020. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  56. ^ Goldstein, Matthew; Rashbaum, William K. (15 November 2017). "Deception and Ruses Fill the Toolkit of Investigators Used by Weinstein". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  57. ^ "Lawsuit claims Arkin misled eCam shareholders - Globes English". Globes (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  58. ^ "Reports: Intel Firm Was Hired To Discredit Former Obama Iran Deal Negotiators". NPR.org. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  59. ^ Haaretz (6 May 2018). "Obama Official Reveals How 'Israeli Intel Firm Hired by Team Trump' Spied on His Family Over Iran Deal". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  60. ^ "Israeli Operatives Who Aided Harvey Weinstein Collected Information on Former Obama Administration Officials". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  61. ^ "Obama official suspects his wife was targeted by Trump team smear attempt". Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  62. ^ "Former Obama official: Israeli spy agency Black Cube targeted me". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  63. ^ Farrow, Ronan (6 May 2018). "Israeli Operatives Who Aided Harvey Weinstein Collected Information on Former Obama Administration Officials". The New Yorkers. Archived from the original on 7 May 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  64. ^ Tibon, Amir (7 May 2018). "More Details on Israeli Spy Firm Black Cube's 'Ops Against ex-Obama Officials' Revealed". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  65. ^ Entous, Adam; Farrow, Ronan (23 August 2018). "The Conspiracy Memo About Obama Aides That Circulated in the Trump White House". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  66. ^ Levinson, Chaim; Shezaf, Hagar (26 October 2018). "$6 Billion of Iranian Money: Why Israeli Firm Black Cube Really Went After Obama's Team". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  67. ^ a b McNish, Jacquie (31 March 2021). "Black Cube Was Paid 'Large Amount of Money' to Improperly Discredit Judge, Court Rules". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  68. ^ a b Kiladze, Tim (26 March 2021). "Catalyst offered up to $11-million to Israeli firm that launched sting on Ontario judge". The Globe And Mail. Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  69. ^ a b c Livesey, Bruce; Boyd, Roddy. "Newton Glassman's Legacy of Ashes April 11, 2018". The Foundation for Financial Journalism. Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  70. ^ Blatchford, Christie (25 November 2017). "Exclusive: The judge, the sting, Black Cube and me". National Post. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  71. ^ a b Jackson, Emily (14 September 2016). "Catalyst Capital Group Inc. appeals ruling over Wind Mobile dealings". Financial Post. Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  72. ^ "Black Cube - a "Mossad-style" business intelligence co - Globes English". Globes (in Hebrew). 4 February 2017. Archived from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  73. ^ "Zisser's heirs to pay Hapoalim NIS 95m after Black Cube uncovers assets - Globes English". Globes (in Hebrew). 15 February 2018. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  74. ^ Haaretz staff (7 July 2018). Israel's Black Cube Campaigned Against Liberal NGOs Before Hungary's Election, Politico Says: Report says the firm's agents secretly recorded people linked to financier George Soros, whom Prime Minister Viktor Orban accused of trying to topple his government. Haaretz. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  75. ^ Bayer, Lily (6 July 2018). Israeli intelligence firm targeted NGOs during Hungary’s election campaign: People working for Black Cube secretly taped meetings that were then cited by Prime Minister Victor Orbán. Politico. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  76. ^ Harkov, Lahov; Sharon, Jeremy (15 March 2018). Exclusive: How a Soros-funded NGO lobbied one EU country against another: Civil Liberties for Europe, spun off of Soros’ Open Society Foundation, tried to convince the German Foreign Ministry to intervene against a controversial Hungarian law targeting Soros’ NGO donations. Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  77. ^ Sheil, Martin (12 July 2018). Connecting Elliott Broidy Related Dots — Offshore and On — Some Russian — Some Not. The Medium. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  78. ^ a b Keinon, Herb (4 February 2018). Netanyahu blames Soros for Israel anti-deportation campaign: Soros, who is Jewish, is a strident critic of Israel and has supported a number of NGOs with radical left-wing agendas. Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  79. ^ "La trampa española al abogado de Panamá que "paga a los jueces"". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). 1 February 2019. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  80. ^ "Sting operation lifts lid on judicial mafia". Archived from the original on 2 January 2020.
  81. ^ Octubre, Corprensa Apartado 0819-05620 El Dorado Ave 12 de; Panamá, Hato Pintado; Panamá, República de (28 January 2019). "'Yo pago a jueces todos los días': Janio Lescure". La Prensa. Archived from the original on 9 April 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  82. ^ "AP Exclusive: Undercover spy exposed in NYC was 1 of many". AP News. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  83. ^ Bergman, Ronen; Shane, Scott (28 January 2019). "The Case of the Bumbling Spy: A Watchdog Group Gets Him on Camera". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2 February 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  84. ^ a b "AP Exclusive: Undercover spy exposed in NYC was 1 of many". AP NEWS. 20 April 2021. Archived from the original on 1 February 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  85. ^ a b "N12 - כך קטר הכפישה חברת סייבר ישראלית". N12. 9 February 2019. Archived from the original on 1 February 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  86. ^ Farrow, Ronan (18 April 2022). "How Democracies Spy on Their Citizens". The New Yorker. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  87. ^ "High Court finds that assets were held on secret trusts for bankrupt Israeli billionaire | One Essex Court | OEC". www.oeclaw.co.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  88. ^ Megiddo, Gur; Rochvarger, Michael (30 April 2019). "Bankrupt Israeli Businessman Hid Over $27 Million in Assets in Europe, Says Trustee". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  89. ^ Fortson, Danny (21 June 2020). "Beny Steinmetz gets rough over Guinea deal". thetimes.co.uk. The Times. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  90. ^ Biesheuvel, Thomas (22 May 2020). "Mining Billionaire Gets Help From Ex-Spies in Bitter Legal Fight". bloomberg.com. Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  91. ^ Shulman, Sophie (24 May 2020). "Israeli Billionaire Hires Black Cube to Spy on Former Partner Company Vale". calcalistech.com. Calcalist. Archived from the original on 5 January 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  92. ^ "Steinmetz Mulls Attack After UK Fraud Case Collapses - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  93. ^ "BNamericas - Secret Recordings Describe Extensive Bribery..." BNamericas.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  94. ^ a b "Israeli Spy Firm Black Cube Links Major Oil Spill Ship to Syrian Family". Haaretz. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  95. ^ ToI Staff. "Israel says tanker suspected of oil spill off coast has Syrian owners". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  96. ^ de Haldevang, Max (11 March 2019). "Read Israeli spy firm Black Cube's secret pitch to clients". QZ. Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  97. ^ "Black Cube - a "Mossad-style" business intelligence co". Globes (in Hebrew). 4 February 2017. Archived from the original on 9 May 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  98. ^ "Report Claims Romania Investigating 4 Israelis for Spying" Archived 1 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine "Algemeiner" 6 April 2016
  99. ^ Somfalvi, Attila; Eichner, Itamar (9 April 2016). "Employees of Israeli business intelligence firm Black Cube is suspected of spying on the director of Romania's Anticorruption Directorate; company denies allegations". Israel News. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  100. ^ "How an Israeli Intelligence Company Attempted to Slur a Hungarian NGO and Failed". index.hu. 5 April 2018. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  101. ^ "A Black Cube ügy" [The Black Cube case] (in Hungarian). Migration Aid Hungary. 23 October 2021. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  102. ^ "Elismerte a Black Cube, hogy ők kémkedtek a magyar civilek után" [Black Cube admits that they spied on Hungarian civilians] (in Hungarian). 444.hu. 11 July 2018. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  103. ^ a b "Israeli intelligence firm targeted NGOs during Hungary's election campaign". Politico. 6 July 2018. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  104. ^ András Dezső (25 October 2021). "Kémjátszma: a 2018-as választási kampány egyik legsötétebb akciójának eddig nem ismert háttere" [Spy game: the so far unknown background of one of the darkest moves of the 2018 Hungarian election] (in Hungarian). HVG. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  105. ^ Inbar Tvizer (10 July 2018). "Soros may have used NGO to further business interests". Ynetnews. Ynet News. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  106. ^ Bertr, Natasha (5 June 2019). "Senate Intelligence Committee summons mysterious British security consultant". POLITICO. Archived from the original on 8 April 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  107. ^ staff, T. O. I. "Report: US Senate asks to interview Israeli-Brit in connection with Russia probe". www.timesofisrael.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  108. ^ Bertr, Natasha (5 June 2019). "Senate Intelligence Committee summons mysterious British security consultant". POLITICO. Archived from the original on 8 April 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  109. ^ a b "Advisory Board | Black Cube". www.blackcube.com. 16 May 2015. Archived from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  110. ^ "Former Mossad chief joins Black Cube". Ynetnews. 11 December 2018. Archived from the original on 12 November 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  111. ^ "Spy Firm Black Cube Adds Former Israeli Police Chief to Advisory Board". CTECH - www.calcalistech.com. 5 July 2018. Archived from the original on 13 August 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  112. ^ "ISRAEL : Black Cube lands security heavyweight". Intelligence Online. 11 July 2018. Archived from the original on 13 August 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  113. ^ "Black Cube | Creative Intelligence | BlackCube". blackcube.com. Archived from the original on 27 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  114. ^ "Advisory Board | Black Cube". blackcube.com. 16 May 2015. Archived from the original on 12 September 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  115. ^ "Mati Leshem appointed CEO of Auto-Center". TheMarker. 20 February 2007. Archived from the original on 6 June 2015.
  116. ^ a b c "Blackcube.com - BlackCube". Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  117. ^ "Paul Reyniers". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2015.

Sources[edit]

External links[edit]