In London, an Israeli private investigator was arrested for allegedly conducting cyber espionage for an unnamed American PR firm, revealed a London court.
The extradition attempt to the United States faced a setback due to a legal technicality, prompting the judge to dismiss it.
Representatives from the United States accused Amit Forlit of participating in a “hack for hire scheme,” asserting that a Washington-based PR and lobbying firm paid his company £16 million ($20 million) to gather intelligence on the Argentinian debt crisis.
Forlit, accompanied by his lawyer, did not respond to requests for comment. He was apprehended at London’s Heathrow Airport under an Interpol red notice while attempting to board a flight to Israel.
The charges against him in the U.S. include conspiracy to commit computer hacking and wire fraud.
Judge Michael Snow ruled against Forlit’s extradition due to procedural delays, highlighting that he was not promptly brought to court in accordance with British extradition law. The Federal Bureau of Investigation declined to comment on the matter.
Apart from the U.S. charges, Forlit is also accused of computer hacking in New York by aviation executive Farhad Azima, who is suing Forlit and others in federal court.
Forlit has admitted to retrieving Azima’s emails but denies involvement in hacking, claiming to have found them “on the web.”
