English version / INVESTIGATION REPORT
How Israelis met with Janez Janša
On December 22nd, 2025, representatives of the Israeli company Black Cube, which engages in intelligence activities worldwide, met with SDS President Janez Janša in Ljubljana. Three months later, videos appeared in Slovenia using a method that Black Cube has been employing for years in political and intelligence operations worldwide.
Report prepared by Borut Mekina, investigative journalist, Mladina weekly, Achiya Schatz, Communications Expert on Influence Operations and Digital Manipulation, Filip Dobranić, social media researcher and CTO at Danes je nov dan and Nika Kovač, Director of the Inštitut 8. marec.
1. Course of the Investigation
Twelve days before election day in Slovenia, videos of prominent Slovenian figures during alleged business meetings began appearing on the website anti-corruption2026.com, which lists no owners, editor, or contact information. The meetings were reportedly organized by the alleged British investment fund Stockard Capital, and the purpose of the posts was to expose the corruption of the current government and its president, Robert Golob.
Before we continue, the authors would like to stress that corruption is unacceptable. Should the posts reveal corruption, we expect the authorities to investigate these revelations and prosecute accordingly.
At the 8 March Institute, upon the initial release of the covert recordings, we recognized that this was a method of dissemination previously employed in election campaigns and other instances around the world and in Europe, typically orchestrated by an Israeli intelligence firm named Black Cube. In Europe, the best-known cases are from Hungary and Romania, while the most notorious example of Black Cube’s operations is the Harvey Weinstein case (U.S.), where the company monitored prosecutors and journalists.
We turned to three contributors for help in preparing this report: Borut Mekina, an investigative journalist for the weekly Mladina; Filip Dobranić, a social media researcher; and Achiya Schatz, a communications expert on influence operations and digital manipulation.
2. The aim of the investigation:
To verify whether there are similarities between Black Cube’s past operations and the Slovenian case.
3. Key findings
The starting point for our investigation was an unofficial report that on December 22, SDS President Janez Janša met with several Israeli citizens in front of his party’s headquarters on Trstenjakova Street in Ljubljana. Why did we decide to verify this information? There is nothing inherently wrong with such meetings taking place, as political parties around the world collaborate with various people; it could have been a protocolary or friendly visit. However, following recent activities in Slovenia, this meeting took on a new meaning. Therefore, we used the Flightradar24 app to check whether any private aircraft, aside from regular commercial flights, had landed at Brnik Airport on that day.
On Flightradar24, we observed that on December 22, a Hawker 800XP private jet with registration number 4X-CNZ, owned by Arrow Aviation of Tel Aviv, landed at Brnik Airport. According to Flightradar24 data, the aircraft landed in Ljubljana around 10:30 a.m. However, the plane did not depart but remained parked at the airport. According to our information, there were four passengers from Israel on the plane, who then went to Ljubljana. Based on the flight departure data from Ljubljana, the visitors from Tel Aviv stayed at the meeting for about two hours.
However, only three passengers departed from Ljubljana, not four. According to Flightradar24 data, the plane subsequently landed in Rome. Based on flight data, testimonies from sources that are well kept within the weekly Mladina, and publicly available information, we were able to identify two of the four passengers: they were Israeli citizens Dan Zorella and Giora Eiland.
Dan Zorella is the co-founder and CEO of Black Cube (BC Strategy Ltd.), and a former high-ranking officer in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). In 2022, he was convicted in Romania (he received a 35-month suspended sentence) for organizing an attempt to discredit Laura Kövesi, the head of Romania’s anti-corruption agency DNA—who is now the head of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).
Giora Eiland is the former head of Israel’s National Security Council, an advisor to Black Cube, and a retired major general in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), having served in the IDF for 33 years. Eiland has been a member of Black Cube’s advisory board since his retirement in 2007.
We then checked on Flightradar to see if this aircraft had landed at Brnik Airport at any other time in the past six months. The app showed that the aircraft in question, 4X-CNZ, appeared in Ljubljana twice more: once in November 2025 and again in February 2026.
Flight Chronology
November 24, 2025 – The aircraft with registration 4X-CNZ lands in Ljubljana for the first time.
December 22, 2025 ~10:30 a.m. – The aircraft takes off from Tel Aviv and lands in Ljubljana. Four passengers went to Ljubljana.
December 22, 2025 ~1:20 p.m. – The plane departs for Rome—but with only three passengers.
February 17, 2026 - Flight 4X-CNZ lands in Ljubljana again.
(Source: https://www.flightradar24.com)
4. Black Cube (BC Strategy Ltd.)
Black Cube is an Israeli private intelligence firm that began operations in 2010, though the company states it was founded in 2011. On its website, the company states that it has operated in more than 75 countries, handled over 540 cases, recovered $5.3 billion in assets, and helped clients obtain $14.7 billion in judgments or settlements.
(Source: https://www.blackcube.com/about-us/)
The private intelligence firm Black Cube was founded by Dan Zorella (דן זורלא), a veteran of the Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) special operations unit, and Avi Yanus (אבי ינוס), a former IDF strategic planning officer who holds a Ph.D. in organizational behavior from the Technion. The company’s international advisory board includes former Mossad Director Meir Dagan (מאיר דגן), who served as the company’s chairman until his death in 2016. Among the current members of Black Cube’s board, we should also highlight former Mossad Director Efraim Halevy (אפרים הלוי), former Israeli Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino, former head of the Israeli National Security Council and retired IDF Major General Giora Eiland (גיורא איילנד), and former London Police Commissioner Adrian Leppard.
Dan Zorella and Giora Eiland arrived in Ljubljana on December 22, 2025, for a meeting with SDS President Janez Janša.
(Source: https://www.blackcube.com/about-us/; Haaretz, August 22, 2019)*
5. How Black Cube Operates
In the documented cases presented below, Black Cube built seemingly fully operational fictitious companies - registered entities with offices, websites, LinkedIn profiles, and email addresses - that were maintained for several months before any approach to the target was made. The company then operates by having its operatives assume false identities—posing as filmmakers, journalists, talent scouts, investors, or fellow activists—and secretly recording meetings.
At least some contracts, including the Weinstein case (which we discuss below), stipulated that the final payment for the service depended on the success of the operations carried out.
6. Documented Operations by Black Cube
Below, we present Black Cube’s operations that have been publicly disclosed, some of which have also led to criminal and other legal proceedings.
2015 – Nigeria: Allegations of election interference
Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie told British lawmakers that Black Cube was hired to hack into the medical records of Muhammadu Buhari, the challenger to then-incumbent Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. A Guardian report revealed that Cambridge Analytica employees were shown material purported to be Buhari’s medical and financial records. Black Cube denied Wylie’s allegations. Jonathan lost the election.
(Sources: Oral evidence before the UK Parliament’s DCMS Committee, 2018 - committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/7803/html; The Guardian)*
https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/7803/html/
2016 – Romania: Criminal conviction
Black Cube was hired to gather compromising material on Laura Codruța Kövesi, Romania’s chief anti-corruption prosecutor. Operatives David Geclowicz and Ron Weiner travelled to Bucharest to hack into her email accounts. Romanian police arrested them before the operation was completed. Both were subsequently convicted. Following a court proceeding in 2022, Black Cube co-founders Dan Zorella and Avi Yanus, along with Executive Director Gal Farchi, accepted suspended sentences of two years and eleven months in prison at a Bucharest court after entering a plea agreement on charges of establishing an “organized crime group”. Romania is the only country to have secured criminal convictions against Black Cube or its leadership.
Laura Codruța Kövesi is currently the chief prosecutor of the European Union’s Anti-Corruption Office.
(Source: Times of Israel, March 21, 2022)
2016–2017 – Harvey Weinstein: Control over prosecutors and journalists
Film producer and sexual predator Harvey Weinstein, through his attorneys at Boies Schiller, hired Black Cube when reporters from The New York Times and The New Yorker were investigating allegations of his sexual assaults. The signed contract required Black Cube to prevent the publication of news articles and exposés. Operatives using false identities targeted actress Rose McGowan, who had been advocating for the rights of abused women, and secretly recorded at least four meetings. Another person posed as one of Weinstein’s victims in order to infiltrate journalistic networks.
Black Cube also actively surveilled journalist Ronan Farrow, who reported the story for The New Yorker. Subcontractors Roman Khaykin and Igor Ostrovskiy were assigned to surveil Farrow and New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor. Ostrovskiy eventually became a whistleblower and one of Farrow’s main sources. Farrow documented the surveillance in his 2019 book “Catch and Kill” and in a three-part series in The New Yorker.
Following the revelations, Black Cube advisory board member Asher Tishler publicly apologized for the company’s conduct, and reports indicated that the firm would also donate the fees it had received.
(Sources: The New Yorker, November 6, 2017; The New Yorker, October 7–9, 2019 – “The Chronicles of Black Cube”)
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/harvey-weinsteins-army-of-spies
2017 – Canada: Inappropriate Harassment, Convicted in Court
Ahead of a significant hearing in the Ontario Court of Appeal between the private equity firms Catalyst Capital and West Face Capital, a Black Cube operative targeted retired Judge Frank Newbould, the original trial judge. The operative, using the false name “Hugo Gabriel Saavedra Rodriguez,” met with Newbould in his office and at a restaurant in Toronto and secretly recorded both meetings, apparently in an attempt to provoke him into making anti-Semitic statements that could be used to discredit him. The attempt failed. No criminal charges were filed. The operation was publicly condemned in court proceedings and subsequent reports.
(Sources: National Post, November 24, 2017; CBC/Radio-Canada, May 21, 2021)
2017–2018 – The Iran Nuclear Deal: Targeting Former Officials
Agents from Black Cube contacted the families of former Obama administration officials Ben Rhodes and Colin Kahl—the “architect” of the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA)—and pretended to be making a documentary about the agreement. The Guardian obtained a transcript of an operative who investigated JCPOA advocate Trita Parsi to gather information on Rhodes and Kahl. Black Cube compiled detailed dossiers on both officials, including home addresses, family details, and vehicle information. Following the disclosure, Black Cube stated: “Black Cube has no connection to the Trump administration, Trump’s aides, anyone close to the administration, or the Iran nuclear deal.” The identity of the client was never established.
(Sources: The Guardian, May 7, 2018; The New Yorker)
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/may/07/obama-officials-targeted-trump-iran-deal-black-cube
2018 – Hungary: Attacks on NGOs ahead of the elections
Ahead of the parliamentary election campaign and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s re-election in April 2018, operatives from the Black Cube organization posed as supporters of progressive non-governmental organizations and approached representatives of civil society linked to George Soros —whom Orbán consistently portrays as his most formidable political opponent—in an attempt to obtain damaging information. A Hungarian magazine subsequently published a list of more than 200 people whom it claimed were part of Soros’s conspiracy against the government. Politico Europe uncovered the case and, citing a former Black Cube employee and an internal source, linked the operation to the company. Israeli Knesset member Tamar Zandberg (תמר זנדברג) called it an “Israeli disgrace.” Black Cube denied everything.
Sources: Politico Europe — https://www.politico.eu/article/viktor-orban-israeli-intelligence-firm-targeted-ngos-during-hungarys-election-campaign-george-soros/
Times of Israel — https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-spy-firm-targeted-ngos-tied-to-soros-before-hungary-election-report/
Privacy International — archived documentation of the operation:
Haaretz, July 7, 2018 — Israeli perspective:
VSquare (Atlátszó/Direkt36 consortium) — Hungarian investigative perspective:
2022 - Hungary: Attacks on Journalists and Activists Ahead of the 2022 Election
Ahead of the April 2022 elections, Black Cube repeated the pattern from 2018. This time, using a network of fake LinkedIn profiles and job offers, they lured at least 12 journalists and activists who had criticized Orbán into video calls. The recordings appeared in pro-Orbán media ahead of the elections. In November 2022, Microsoft, specifically LinkedIn, confirmed that Black Cube was responsible for the operation. LinkedIn removed all the fake profiles and Black Cube’s entire corporate page. The pattern of fake companies was identical to what we are now seeing in Slovenia: the fictitious company “Wilson Energy Consultants” had a functioning website that became inaccessible after the operation ended, and its English phone number was redirected to the customer service line of the Sky television channel.
Sources:
Atlatszo.hu, November 2023
A detailed description of the operation involving LinkedIn’s infrastructure. It documents the identity of Wilson Energy Consultants, a website that becomes inaccessible following the operation, and a phone number that was redirected to Sky TV.
Reuters, November 10, 2023
Confirmation of LinkedIn’s official statement regarding Black Cube’s attribution and the removal of all fake profiles.
VSquare, 2025 — analysis of pattern repetition ahead of the 2026 Hungarian elections:
7. Comparison between Hungary 2018, 2022, and Slovenia 2026
Ten days before the National Assembly elections, covertly recorded videos of prominent Slovenian individuals appeared online in Slovenia in a manner similar to what occurred in Hungary in 2018 and 2022. They were published on the website anti-corruption2026.com, which lists no owners, editor, or contact information. The site is in English—not in Slovenian. The videos, secretly recorded during business meetings, are posted on the website. The first of their victims, former Minister of Justice Dominika Švarc Pipan, explained the circumstances surrounding the creation of the videos: she was contacted by the alleged British investment fund Stockard Capital, which claimed it wanted to invest in data centers in the region and was interested in the company Gen-I (where the current Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Robert Golob, once worked). She met with them twice: in February and on March 5, 2026, in Vienna. The company covered her airfare and accommodation expenses. After the meeting, during which she was secretly filmed, all publicly available information about the fund in question disappeared. The pattern repeated itself with the others, though the locations of the meetings were different.
A comparison between Black Cube’s operations ahead of the 2018 and 2022 Hungarian elections and the events in Slovenia prior to the March 22, 2026, election reveals an extraordinary structural similarity. It is not merely a similar method—it is a practically identical operational pattern that includes the same phases, the same timeframe, and the same distribution logic. This pattern was first publicly documented before the 2018 Hungarian elections and repeated before the 2022 elections.
8. Prices for Black Cube’s services for the operations carried out
The scope and scale of Black Cube’s operations are best illustrated by the disclosed payments for its services. Below are examples that have been publicly documented.
9. Black Cube’s ties to the Israeli government
Black Cube repeatedly and publicly asserts that it does not work for the Israeli government or Israeli political actors. However, the following documented events contradict this claim.
Contract with the Ministry of Defense (2012–2014)
In August 2019, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that the Israeli Ministry of Defense had a contract with Black Cube and that, during the term of the contract, Black Cube employees were stationed at an intelligence base of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Spokespersons for the IDF and the Ministry of Defense confirmed this arrangement, but the ministry declined to disclose the nature of the work or the payments made for the services rendered.
(Source: Haaretz, August 22, 2019 – “For Black Cube, the Israeli government was both a client and a target”)
Revelation by TheMarker
A 2024 report in the Israeli press (TheMarker) adds a more recent and concrete link between the Black Cube organization and Israeli official circles. In August 2024, TheMarker reported that Minister Amichai Chikli (עמיחי שיקלי) had discussed with the executive director of Black Cube, Dan Zorello, about the possibility of a private intelligence operation against Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a U.S.-based organization active in anti-Israel protests on college campuses. According to TheMarker, the operation was not carried out, and there are conflicting reports as to whether the initiative came from the ministry or the company. The report also noted that Giora Eiland attended the meeting alongside Chikli and the ministry’s director-general.
(Source: TheMarker, August 7, 2024 – Reporter: Gur Megiddo)
10. Sources
Public applications
- Flightradar24 app – flight data, with a focus on flights between Ljubljana and Tel Aviv; flight data for 4X-CNZ, November 24, 2025, December 22, 2025, and February 17, 2026, website flightradar24.com,
Public sources and institutional reports
- blackcube.com/about-us (company figures and board)
- UK Parliament DCMS Committee oral evidence (Wylie testimony): committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/7803/html
- European Parliament PEGA Committee report (NSO/Black Cube)
- UK High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division (Keshet costs order)
- Romanian court proceedings and plea agreements (2022)
News reports and investigative articles
- Ronan Farrow, "Harvey Weinstein's Army of Spies," *The New Yorker*, Nov. 6, 2017
- Ronan Farrow, "The Black Cube Chronicles" (Parts I–III), *The New Yorker*, Oct. 7–9, 2019
- Ronan Farrow, *Catch and Kill* (book, 2019)
- Raphael Satter, "AP Exclusive: Undercover spy exposed in NYC was 1 of many," *AP*, Feb. 13, 2019
- Oliver Holmes, "Israel intel firm denies it was hired by Trump aides," *The Guardian*, May 7, 2018
TheMarker (Gur Megiddo) - Chikli/Zorella/Eiland meeting on covert operations — Aug. 7, 2024
Haaretz - Black Cube contract with the Israeli Ministry of Defense — Aug. 22, 2019
Times of Israel - Zorella’s conviction in Romania — March 21, 2022
Globe and Mail Catalyst Capital - Judge Newbould — March 2021
Financial Times Playtech/Evolution — 2025
Politico Europe - Hungarian operation 2018 — Apr. 2019
Atlatszo.hu / LinkedIn - Hungarian Operation 2022 — Nov. 2022
Links
https://www.blackcube.com/about-us/
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/may/07/obama-officials-targeted-trump-iran-deal-black-cube
https://apnews.com/article/a1d1af4256c04cc5a36347667e966a14
https://www.ft.com/content/487f9b89-7e7c-4d3e-ab92-2e1b2a517b5c
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/harvey-weinsteins-army-of-spies
https://www.politico.eu/article/black-cube-viktor-orban-george-soros-israel-hungary-secret-service/
https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/7803/html/
Appendix 1
Other Activities of Black Cube
Black Cube does not operate solely in negative cases, although the latter tend to stand out. To provide a comprehensive picture of the company’s operations, we also cite several positive examples, which are likewise supported by journalistic reports.
Mexico / Pemex (2017–2019): Black Cube operatives secretly recorded high-ranking Pemex officials describing how they accepted bribes in exchange for contracts. The recordings, obtained on behalf of the drilling company Oro Negro - which was forced into bankruptcy after Pemex terminated its contracts - were published in October 2019 by the Wall Street Journal and Mexican media outlets, including El Universal. They became key evidence in a corruption lawsuit.
(Sources: Wall Street Journal, October 11, 2019; El Universal)
Italy and Panama: The Black Cube website describes investigations that expose arbitration fraud and judicial corruption in Italy and Panama, respectively. These cases have not been confirmed by independent reports to date and should be treated as case studies claimed by the companies, unless independent sources are obtained.
(Source: blackcube.com)
Appendix 2
Legal proceedings against Black Cube
Romania (2022)
Founders Zorella and Yanus and CEO Farchi were given suspended sentences on organized crime charges.
(Source: Times of Israel, March 21, 2022)
United Kingdom
Defamation lawsuit regarding Keshet (2020): Black Cube filed a £15 million defamation lawsuit in the United Kingdom against Channel 12 Israeli journalist Ilana Dayan and Keshet Broadcasting, after a 2019 investigative report revealed that Black Cube had allegedly attempted to discredit an Israeli executive and block reform of the communications sector. Black Cube withdrew the lawsuit. A British court ordered Black Cube to pay £350,000 in costs to Keshet and five of its journalists.
(Source: The Guardian, November 25, 2020)
Canada
The Ontario judge’s operation was the subject of legal proceedings. No criminal charges were filed.
(Sources: National Post, November 24, 2017; CBC/Radio-Canada, May 21, 2021)
United States / United Kingdom
Despite documented surveillance of journalists and public officials, no prosecutions were initiated.
Current Activity (2025)
The Financial Times reported in 2025 that the gaming company Playtech paid Black Cube more than 1.8 million pounds for an investigation targeting its competitor Evolution. The report confirms that the company remains active in a significant role within corporate intelligence operations.
(Source: Financial Times, 2025)
You can read the entire report on this link (pdf file).