Israeli investigator linked to 'hack and leak' scandal involving Exxon, MBS

The Israeli investigator had previously exposed an international terror financing network.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF DECEMBER 5, 2024 09:25

Illustrative image of a hacker. (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Prosecutors have begun examining Israeli investigator Eitan Arusy in a "globe-spanning probe" for his role in an illegal practice known as "hack and leak," according to a Wednesday Wall Street Journal report. 

Arusy, who gained fame after supporting the Manhattan district attorney in exposing a terror financing operation, has reportedly joined a number of other Israeli experts, working in a network as private investigators. 

According to sources in the report, the Manhattan US attorney's office has scrutinized Arusy's role in the network of private investigators for seeking "damaging information on opponents," such as gas company Exxon Mobil and hedge fund Elliott Management.

Arusy’s ability to garner highly sought-after information has led prosecutors to examine him, the report said. 

According to the WSJ, the sources also claimed that Arusy's professional sleuthing allegedly led to the acquisition of confidential emails belonging to employees of billionaire Tom Steyer and the private calendar of Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Hacker, cyber attack (credit: REUTERS/DADO RUVIC)

Despite the alleged investigations, Arusy’s lawyer denied them to WSJ, saying that Arusy “has never engaged in any illegal activity. Period. He has not illegally obtained any information, ever. He has not hacked anyone, nor requested that anyone be hacked, nor directed any such hacking.”

Arusy’s access to information

The report elaborated on Arusy's allegations against Exxon Mobil. In 2016, Exxon Mobil defended itself from allegations that it had been aware of climate change damages for decades and had hidden this information from the public.

According to individuals familiar with the matter, Arusy reportedly obtained a private memo that was said to prove environmentalists met at the offices of a Rockefeller charity earlier that year to establish in the  public’s mind that "Exxon is a corrupt institution.”

Once the memo was leaked to the public, Exxon and the company’s supporters claimed it was evidence that the Rockefellers and environmentalist groups were behind a scheme to stir investigations into the oil company.

According to the report, the memo was taken through illegal hacking, federal prosecutors said in court documents.

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A spokeswoman for Exxon Mobil told the WJS that the company “has not been involved in, nor are we aware of, any hacking activities.” 

The spokesperson added, “If there was any hacking involved, we condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”

The WSJ reported that Amit Forlit, who claimed to be an associate of Arusy and a fellow Israeli, was arrested in April at London’s Heathrow Airport in connection with an alleged hacking conspiracy involving Exxon's competitors.

According to the report, the company Forlit has denied involvement, and the US is reportedly seeking to extradite him from the United Kingdom. 

Forlit’s associate Aviram Azari reportedly pled guilty in 2022 to conspiracy and wire fraud charges related to the hacking of Exxon’s opponents - the number of which could range in the hundreds, according to prosecutors. 

Those cited in the report claimed that Arusy also allegedly approached Marathon Strategies LLC about finding buyers of private information on Gulf state leaders. This information allegedly included the Saudi prince's schedule. 

According to the WSJ, the information had all allegedly been collected by an Indian hacking network hired by Qatar to target the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.

Arusy reportedly pushed the company to begin selling the information back to hacked countries, banking on the belief that they would wish to gain information on private citizens. 

Marathon founder Phil Singer said his company declined Arusy’s approach in the report. 

“Once we knew what he was proposing, we said no, and that was the extent of it,” Singer noted.