An Inside Look into Private Intelligence and Counter-Anti-Corruption

Although these events happened in 2016, and this article is from October 2020, I just recently came across this very intriguing and revealing true story.

I would like to say that I have not done too much research into this subject, but once this is posted, we will all have the chance to do further research into this subject and contribute to the thread. For now, I will be paraphrasing and using his article to tell the story, while also contributing my mostly unresearched analysis and speculation. Here we go.

At the request of the Romanian government, the head of Israeli private intelligence firm Black Cube was questioned in 2016 over an operation in Bucharest. Leaked transcripts of his interrogation offer a rare window into the shadowy world of political espionage

Black Cube CEO Suspected of Running Crime Organization. Revealed: The Romania Interrogation

The entire article is well worth reading, but here's my summary:

Let's start with Black Cube

From their website:

Black Cube is a select group of veterans from the Israeli elite intelligence units that specialises in tailored solutions to complex business and litigation challenges

At the time of these events, Dan Zorella was the CEO of Black Cube, and Meir Dagan, former Mossad chief and honorary President of the company.
I guess if you want to start your own private intelligence company, it helps if you're friends with former intelligence directors.

The company’s CEO testified that he consulted former Mossad chief Dagan in a private meeting in the latter’s home.

However

It is important to note the timeline in this context as this was only a week prior to Dagan passing away. As Dagan died three months before Zorella’s interrogation, police were unable to confirm the account.

This story starts with Daniel Dragomir, a former Romanian Intelligence Service agent, contacting Black Cube because he's concerned about anti-corruption enforcement in Romania. I don't know what kind of corruption this man may, or may not, have been involved with, but he definitely sounded concerned from the CEO of Black Cube's account.

According to the testminoy, after the two sides introduced themselves, Dragomir told them though he used to work for Romanian intelligence in an official capacity, but that he was moved because of the anti-corruption investigations. He said the investigation was “bull#”, but that it gave him the opportunity to act as a front for the Romanian intelligence - to which Levy allegedly responded: “It’s the same with us” in a reference to Israel. Regarding the fact that Dragomir did not work in an official capacity, Zorella told investors: “In our field, no one ever leaves the service of the government.”

“He said he needed to confirm or deny a few suspicions around a number of corruption incidents, corruption and misconduct in the DNA [the anti-corruption task force that was investigating Dragomir and others]. Specifically, against Laura [Codruta] Kovesi [who headed the task force]. He said since she was appointed she had taken over the country. He said that [Kovesi] was working with the deputy chief of the SRI, Florian Coldea and that together they had turned the country into one of fear and terror.”

According to Zorella, Dragomir never mentioned his own case or asked them to intervene on his behalf, but rather cast it as a “national issue.”

To me it sounds a lot like, Romania made a discission to crack down on corruption and appointed someone to head that effort. Romanian Intel guy essentially losses his job relating to these probes and is fearful about the whole ordeal. His accomplices are likely to also be fearful and may have hired him in an unofficial capacity.

We should all know that intel people work in the black, white, and all manner of greys. It's very feasible that some intel people not only become involved in crime, but in ome cases are sanctioned to do so. Hell, even the FBI is allowed to allow people to break the law and even spends hundreds of millions doing it.

FBI And Other Agencies Paid Informants $548 Million In Recent Years With Many Committing Authorized Crimes

So how serious was the corruption that was being investigated? I'm guessing that crimes maybe allowed in some circles, weren't accepted by them all, and extreme abuses possibly needed to be cracked down on.

So, this Romanian Intel guy hires a private intelligence company to "investigate corruption abuses", or in other words, dig up dirt on the person heading the anti-corruption initiatives that are likely investigating him and his buddies.

I have no idea what corruption was being investigated, but as I think back, wasn't a lot of child abuse and trafficking information coming to the surface at that time?

So, Black Cube is hired, operations in Romania are planned and conducted, a bunch of snooping happens, and two of the intelligence operatives, a hacker and his team-mate, are arrested.

At the beginning of April 2016, two employees of Israeli private intelligence firm Black Cube were arrested in a raid on the Bucharest Marriot by members of Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism.
The two - David Geclowicz and Ron Weiner - were caught with computers used hours prior to hack into the computers of family members and other confidants of Romania’s Laura Codruta Kovesi, then a state prosecutor heading the National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA), charged with leading the country’s anti-corruption efforts.

Kovesi was leading a number of high profile investigations into senior Romainain officials, including people close to the president. Black Cube was hired to find damaging evidence against her. The hack took place weeks before a decision was to be made on whether to appoint Kovesi for another term and it was quickly revealed that she was also investigating a former senior official from Romania’s intelligence service. His name is Daniel Dragomir and he was supposedly the man who commissioned the job from Black Cube, whose CEO, Dan Zorella, a dual Romainian-Israeli citizen, was also a suspect.

Two months later, on June 27, Zorella found himself in an Israeli police interrogation room. He provided his version of events to the Israeli police’s anti-fraud unit and a Romanian investigator who was also present after Bucharest had requested assistance with the case. Transcript of his interrogations reveals how the private intel organization works, finds clients and conducts its operations abroad. It offers a rare window into a shadowy world of former spies, digital intelligence operations and political espionage.

It's a long story, but it's well worth the read, as it's an interesting view into intelligence and counter-anti-corruption techniques. Techniques that we might want to reflect upon with regards to recent events.

Here's how the story ends:

After the arrest, Zorella says he reached out to Dragomir via the Wickr app: “He promised he would take care of things at the highest level possible and that it will be resolved soon. After a few days I started to understand that he cannot solve the problem. I started to document our communications.”

He says he and Yanus then came up with a new cover story claiming they had found great materials on the DNA, the goal being “to make sure they were still interested in communicating with us and wouldn't throw us to the dogs. [Dragomir] said he had received information from another intel service that the FBI tipped them off to [Black Cube’s] activities in Bucharest.”

Postscript
Kovesi was ousted from her position in 2018 and last year a EU court ruled her firing was unlawful. Today she serves as a prosecutor for the EU, focusing on financial crimes.

a reply to: IndieA

"Watch Romania!...."


"Corruption", "Private intelligence companies", former Mossad operatives...


Criminal activities often include smuggling.


Considering the named players and the "locations"....


Could "something" have arrived from Isreal?


Perhaps "something" from the Negev?

Some related videos I found:

a reply to: Mantiss2021

"Watch Romania!...."

What do you mean?
Are you referring to a movie? TV show? Or just in general?

a reply to: IndieA

It is a reference to a now deleted thread on ATS that had quite a following earlier this year warning of an unspecified but potentially "game-changing" imminent development in Romania, possibly related to the war in Ukraine.

And maybe...weapons of mass destruction?

a reply to: IndieA

Some related videos

Biden speaks about corruption in Romania

Romania you say..... You need to go further back than 2016 when it comes to the history of this country. I was travelling there in 1980, in the days of Nicolae Ceaușescu who was executed along with his wife in 1989 after the Christmas Revolution. Even though he was the last Communist leader of that country..... the Russian's didn't trust him. There were armed Romanian troops on each floor of the hotels we stayed in and even Russian tanks along the Romanian/Russia border.
It wasn't until the overthrow of Ceaușescu that much more came to light. Who emembers all the orphans? There is still an estimated 70,000 orphans in State care to this day.
Oh, and guess who owns at least 10 properties in Romania? King Charles, he was there just a few weeks ago. Prince George even owns a wildflower meadow there, a christening gift from Count Tibor Kalnoky. There are blood ties between the British and Romanian Royal family.
Romania countryside and outlying villages are beautiful, I can understand the appeal. However, I and others were aware of something 'dark and secretive' about the country, something didn't feel right even back then.
Yes indeed.... 'Watch Romania', Ukraine is smoke and mirrors.
Rainbows
Jane

originally posted by: Mantiss2021
a reply to: IndieA

It is a reference to a now deleted thread on ATS that had quite a following earlier this year warning of an unspecified but potentially "game-changing" imminent development in Romania, possibly related to the war in Ukraine.

And maybe...weapons of mass destruction?

Interesting. It was just closed. It appears it is gone now.

a reply to: KKLOCO

"The absence of a thing is often as significant as its presence....Sometimes more so."

2nd