An Israeli intelligence firm was hired to discredit Hungarian NGOs ahead of the recent elections, it has been reported.
Two former Black Cube employees told news website Politico that, from December 2017 to March 2018, Hungarian NGOs connected to American-Hungarian businessman George Soros were contacted by Black Cube agents using fake identities.
The agents are said to have secretly recorded their conversations, which were later published in Israel’s newspaper Jerusalem Post.
The conversations were also used by Hungarian government-controlled daily paper Magyar Idők.
According to Politico, Hungarian right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who won the election, used the recordings to attack the organisations during his campaign.
The undercover agents are said to have used European and Arab cover names.
According to people at the NGOs who met with them, at least two of them spoke with Israeli accents.
A spokesperson for Black Cube said: “It is Black Cube’s policy to never discuss its clients with any third party, and to never confirm or deny any speculation made with regard to the company’s work.
"Referencing Black Cube has become an international sport in 2018, and apparently it is considered to be more exciting even than the football World Cup to some media outlets.
"Black Cube supports the work of many leading law firms around the world, while gathering evidence for complex legal processes, and for that purpose alone. Anyone claiming otherwise is misleading their readers.
"It is important to note that Black Cube always operates in full compliance of the law in every jurisdiction in which it conducts its work, following legal advice from the world’s leading law firms.”
It is thought to be the first time the intelligence agency was hired to run interference during an election.
The New Yorker reported that Harvey Weinstein hired Black Cube in 2016 to spy on an actress Rose McGowan who had accused him of sexual assault.
The agency was founded in 2012 and its headquarters are in Tel Aviv, where it employs former Israeli military intelligence officers.
