Israeli private investigator loses extradition fight over US 'hack and leak' charges
LONDON - An Israeli private investigator wanted by the U.S. for allegedly carrying out a "hacking for hire" campaign at the behest of an ExxonMobil lobbyist lost his fight on Wednesday against extradition from Britain.
Amit Forlit, 57, is facing charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and computer hacking relating to his alleged targeting of environmental activists, his lawyers said in January, confirming Reuters' earlier reporting.
Lawyers representing the U.S. authorities said Forlit was alleged to have directed the hacking of activists, with documents then passed to a lobbying firm and subsequently leaked to the media.
Forlit, who was arrested at London's Heathrow Airport last year, argued he should not be sent to the U.S. because – as his charges relate to climate change litigation against Exxon – his prosecution is "unquestionably political".
His objections to extradition were rejected by Judge John McGarva, who said in his written ruling that U.S. prosecutors simply alleged that Forlit was a "hired gun".
"The highest he can put his case is that he is collateral damage in the climate change litigation," McGarva said. He added that Forlit's prosecution "may be dropped by the new administration" of President Donald Trump.
Forlit, whose bail was extended, has 14 days to challenge the decision at the High Court. His lawyer Edward Grange told reporters he expected the case to end up at the High Court.
Forlit's lawyers said in court filings for January's hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court that Forlit was charged with a conspiracy to hack individuals and entities involved in or associated with environmental activism.
His lawyer Rachel Scott said the hacking was "alleged to have been commissioned by DCI Group, a lobbying firm representing ExxonMobil".
In November, Reuters reported that Forlit was wanted by the U.S. Department of Justice in connection with an espionage campaign targeting environmentalists seeking to hold Exxon legally accountable for its impact on climate change.
Exxon previously said it "has not been involved in, nor are we aware of, any hacking activities" and that, if there were hacking involved, "we condemn it in the strongest possible terms".
DCI Group previously said the allegations that it commissioned the hacking operation were false, adding it directs all of its employees and consultants to comply with the law. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
42 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Netanyahu says regime change in Iran could be result of Israel's attacks
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves following a meeting in the White House, in Washington, U.S., April 7, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt//File Photo Netanyahu says regime change in Iran could be result of Israel's attacks WASHINGTON - Regime change in Iran could be a result of Israel's military attacks on the country, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News on Sunday, saying Israel would do whatever is necessary to remove the "existential threat" posed by Tehran. Israel launched "Operation Rising Lion" with a surprise attack on Friday morning that wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command and damaged its nuclear sites, and says the campaign will continue to escalate in coming days. Iran has vowed to "open the gates of hell" in retaliation. Israel's military has said the current goal of the campaign is not a change in regime, but the dismantling of Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Asked by Fox's Bret Baier on his "Special Report" program if regime change was part of Israel's military effort, Netanyahu said: "Could certainly be the result because the Iran regime is very weak." "We're geared to do whatever is necessary to achieve our dual aim, to remove ... two existential threats - the nuclear threat and the ballistic missile threat," Netanyahu said in one of his first interviews since Israel's attacks began. "We did act - to save ourselves, but also, I think, to not only protect ourselves, but protect the world from this incendiary regime. We can't have the world's most dangerous regime have the world's most dangerous weapons," he said. Israel has said its operation could last weeks, and Netanyahu has openly urged the Iranian people to rise up against their Islamic clerical rulers. Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other overnight into Sunday, killing scores and raising fears of a wider conflict, as U.S. President Donald Trump said it could be ended easily while warning Tehran not to strike any U.S. targets. Asked about a Reuters report that Trump vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Netanyahu said: "I'm not going to get into that." But he said he had informed Trump ahead of Friday's military action. American pilots are shooting down Iranian drones headed toward Israel, he said. With worries growing of a regional conflagration, Trump has lauded Israel's offensive while denying Iranian allegations that the U.S. has taken part in it. He warned Tehran not to widen its retaliation to include U.S. targets or else face the "full strength and might" of the U.S. armed forces. Trump has repeatedly said Iran could end the war by agreeing to tough restrictions on its nuclear program, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes but Western countries say could be used to make a bomb. The latest round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States, due to be held on Sunday, was scrapped after Tehran said it would not negotiate while under Israeli attack. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Trump vetoed Israeli plan to kill Iran's supreme leader, US officials say
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he attends a military parade to commemorate the U.S. Army's 250th Birthday, on the day of his 79th birthday, in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 14, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei looks on, in a televised message following the Israeli strikes in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump vetoed an Israeli plan in recent days to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Sunday. "Have the Iranians killed an American yet? No. Until they do we're not even talking about going after the political leadership," said one of the sources, a senior U.S. administration official. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said top U.S. officials have been in constant communications with Israeli officials in the days since Israel launched a massive attack on Iran in a bid to halt its nuclear program. They said the Israelis reported that they had an opportunity to kill the top Iranian leader, but Trump waved them off of the plan. The officials would not say whether Trump himself delivered the message. But Trump has been in frequent communications with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. When asked about Reuters report, Netanyahu, in an interview on Sunday with Fox News Channel's "Special Report With Bret Baier," said: "There's so many false reports of conversations that never happened, and I'm not going to get into that." "But I can tell you, I think that we do what we need to do, we'll do what we need to do. And I think the United States knows what is good for the United States," Netanyahu said. Trump has been holding out hope for a resumption of U.S.-Iranian negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program. Talks that had been scheduled for Sunday in Oman were canceled as a result of the strikes. Trump told Reuters on Friday that "we knew everything" about the Israeli strikes. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Israel's strikes on Iran were years in the making: Analysts
Fire of Israeli attack on Sharan Oil depot is seen following the Israeli strikes on Iran, in Tehran, on June 15. PHOTO: REUTERS Israel's strikes on Iran were years in the making: Analysts PARIS - Israel's unprecedented strikes on Iran, which have killed top military leaders and nuclear scientists, required years of meticulous intelligence gathering and infiltration, experts say. Israel said it hit hundreds of targets on June 13 alone, and has since continued its attacks, striking a defence facility and fuel depots on June 15 . The fiercest-ever exchange of fire between the arch foes came in the midst of ongoing talks between Tehran and Washington seeking to reach a deal on Iran's nuclear programme. 'Israel has been following the nuclear programme for 15 years,' Israeli analyst Michael Horowitz told AFP. 'The strikes we see are the result of years of intelligence gathering and infiltration of the Islamic republic.' Israel has previously carried out more limited attacks against Iranian military sites, including in October 2024. 'It seems that this week's operation had been in preparation for months, with an acceleration after the operation last year significantly weakened Iranian air defences,' Mr Horowitz said. The United States and other Western countries, along with Israel, accuse Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon. Tehran denies that, but has gradually broken away from its commitments under a 2015 nuclear deal it struck with world powers, which the United States withdrew from during President Donald Trump's first term. The landmark accord had provided Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its atomic programme. 'Impressive' precision Israel is long believed to have carried out sabotage operations inside Iran through its Mossad espionage agency, but the attacks that started on June 13 are by far the broadest in scope. The campaign has shown Israel to be capable of precisely locating and taking out high-ranking Iranian officials and nuclear scientists. A European security source said the strikes showed 'an impressive degree of precision and mastery'. Israel says it has killed 20 military and security targets, including the armed forces' chief of staff and the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, as well as nine nuclear scientists. Mr Danny Citrinowicz, of the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies, said the ability to take out high-ranking officials showed 'intelligence, but also operational superiority of Israel over Iran'. 'It's highly connected to the ability to collect information, intelligence in Iran for years, excellent intelligence that actually allows you to detect where they're living, the seniors, also the nuclear scientists,' he told AFP. The latest targeted strikes come after Israel killed Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, in a Tehran guesthouse in July 2024 . Haniyeh had been in town for the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and was reportedly killed by an explosive device that Israeli operatives had placed in the guesthouse weeks before. Analysts at the time saw the attack as a major intelligence failure by Iran. But 'still Iran didn't learn and didn't have the ability to lock the holes in their system', said Mr Citrinowicz. Smuggled drone News site Axios reported that Mossad agents inside Iran helped prepare the J une 13 strikes, pre-positioning weapon systems near air defence targets, including by hiding them inside vehicles, and launching them when the attack started. An Israeli intelligence official told Axios that Mossad had 'established an attack drone base inside Iran with drones that were smuggled in long before the operation'. A former Israeli intelligence official told The Atlantic that 'Iranians opposed to the regime make for a ready recruiting pool', and that 'Iranians working for Israel were involved in efforts to build a drone base inside the country'. Mr Alain Chouet, the former number three in the French intelligence, said he was convinced Israel had 'half a dozen cells capable of acting at any moment' inside Iran. Iran regularly executes people it accuses of spying for Israel. It is unclear what role, if any, Israel's key military and diplomatic ally the United States had in the latest strikes. Before the attack early on June 13 , Mr Trump publicly urged Israel to allow time for diplomacy, as a sixth round of US-Iranian nuclear talks were set to be held in Oman at the weekend. The US president on June 15 said Washington 'had nothing to do' with ally Israel's campaign. But Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on June 15 said Tehran had 'solid proof of the support of the American forces and American bases in the region' for the attacks. And Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on June 14 his country was acting with 'the clear support of the president of the United States'. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
