Black Cube

For other uses, see Black cube.

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 Israel Defense Forces (IDF) activities.[6]

Black Cube provides intelligence, evidence, and advisory services in multi-jurisdictional legal and white collar crime cases.[2] Their clients are mainly wealthy individuals, oligarchs, and global corporations. They represent them in court cases, manage public relations, and assist in other matters as needed.[7][8] The company uncovered high-level corruption in Italy, Panama, and Mexico.[9][10][11] It is estimated that Black Cube has managed to recover as much as $5.3 billion of assets for its clients and win $14.7 billion through court verdicts or out-of-court settlements.[12][13][14]

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.[15][16][17][18] The firm also drew condemnation for covertly surveilling and assisting efforts to discredit women accusing Harvey Weinstein of sexual violence and the investigative journalists researching whether those accusations were credible.[19][20] Their tactics also involve attempts to goad individuals into making anti-semitic or otherwise damaging remarks.[21]

  1. ^ "Contact Us". www.blackcube.com. 26 May 2015. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  2. ^ a b 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. ^ 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. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference auto3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Israel's Black Cube said to have uncovered widespread corruption in Panama". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 5 September 2019.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ לוי-וינריב, אלה (14 February 2018). "יורשי זיסר ישלמו 95 מ' ש' לבנק הפועלים במסגרת הסדר פשרה". Globes. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  14. ^ Mendick, Robert (21 March 2024). "Inside the shadowy world of the 'private Mossad'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  15. ^ "Israeli citizen gets probation after pleading guilty in espionage case in Romania".
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference ToI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ "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.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ "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.
  20. ^ "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.
  21. ^ Bergman, Ronen (28 January 2019). "The Case of the Bumbling Spy: A Watchdog Group Gets Him on Camera". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 October 2024.