Yedioth Ahronoth: The Israeli Mossad is part of spying plot in Italy
A domestic spying scandal has rocked Italy after a private investigations firm made up of current and former senior members of the security services stole personal information on politicians, including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and public figures, for use in blackmail.
According to the Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper hinted at the involvement of the Israeli foreign intelligence agency (Mossad) in deals with the Milan-based company.
Yedioth Ahronoth explained in its report that at least 4 people have been arrested and dozens of others are under investigation, and said that the Italian media described the case as a conspiracy at the highest level, including mafia members and intelligence officials, in addition to foreign intelligence agencies, including Mossad.
Investigators said cybersecurity experts and hackers may have breached Italy’s interior ministry servers, and Meloni called the alleged plot unacceptable and a threat to her country’s democracy.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto has called for an urgent parliamentary investigation, fearing state secrets may have been compromised.
According to the newspaper who pointed out that a former senior member of the police, who heads the private commercial intelligence company “Equalize”, is the main suspect in the investigation.
He was accused of hacking into the servers of government ministries and the police from 2019 to 2024, to build huge files, full of secrets and sensitive information that he sold or planned to sell to his clients from major companies and law firms.
According to a report by the Italian Corriere della Sera newspaper, investigators intercepted a visit to the investigation company by unidentified Israelis described as intelligence agents, who wanted to deal with information related to Iranian gas, which might be of interest to the Italian state-owned gas company Eni.
Corriere della Sera said that the visit was coordinated by a senior member of the police working for Italian intelligence, and that the Israeli agents asked for help in identifying the actions of Russian hackers and Russian banking transactions linked to the former Wagner Group.
The Open website said that the Israelis offered the Italian company confidential information about illegal gas purchases from Iran for one million Euros, in exchange for information about Russian hackers from the Wagner Group, and that the Vatican participated in helping to move against Russia.
