The Secrets of Back Channels: How Israel Used the Epstein Network to Export Spy Technologies?

Leaked documents reveal a complex web of financial and political relationships that linked the late American financier Jeffrey Epstein with Israel's security elite, most notably former Prime Minister Ehud Barak. This relationship began to take on an institutional character in 2013, with Epstein acting as a financial and strategic intermediary to open new markets for Israeli military and cyber industries in politically unstable regions.

The correspondence shows that Epstein was not just an investor, but a deal architect connecting global capital with emerging Israeli surveillance technologies. Among the most prominent of these companies was 'Carbyne' (formerly known as Reporty), which specialized in emergency response and surveillance technologies, and received financial support from Epstein and direct supervision from Ehud Barak before being sold later for hundreds of millions.

Israel relied on legal loopholes in its defense export control system to export its security technologies, allowing it to circumvent international standards and human rights. Since Israel is not a member of the 'Wassenaar Arrangement,' it found in the back channels managed by Epstein an ideal means to bypass official oversight and achieve secret diplomatic and security interests.

In the case of Ivory Coast, official meetings between Benjamin Netanyahu and President Alassane Ouattara in Jerusalem in 2012 coincided with secret meetings held by Epstein in New York with members of the Ouattara family. This parallel track reflects an Israeli strategy based on building personal relationships with decision-making circles in target countries to pave the way for major security contracts.

Ehud Barak used his influence as a former defense minister to lend intelligence credibility to the deals Epstein was promoting, moving between his capacity as a businessman and a former state official. During his visit to Abidjan in 2013, Barak presented proposals for building an eavesdropping and interception infrastructure, cloaked under the humanitarian guise of building a medical hospital, a common tactic to disguise security activities.

These activities were not limited to the African continent but extended to Mongolia, where Epstein coordinated a visit for Barak in April 2013 to meet senior national security officials there. Correspondence indicates that Epstein guided Barak step-by-step, urging him to exploit civil unrest around the world to turn it into lucrative financial returns through the sale of surveillance systems.

Swiss private banks, such as 'Edmond de Rothschild' and 'Julius Baer,' played a vital role in providing financial and legal cover for these operations. These institutions granted consulting contracts to Barak and Epstein, allowing the conversion of brokerage commissions in arms and espionage deals into legitimate professional fees, away from the eyes of international financial oversight.

One of the most controversial aspects is the involvement of international organizations such as the 'International Peace Institute' in this network, where the institute's diplomatic reputation was used as a front to facilitate security investments. The institute's president, Terje Rød-Larsen, was later forced to resign after his suspicious financial ties with Epstein were exposed, highlighting the Israeli security industry's penetration of international institutions.

The documents show that Barak used official papers bearing the emblem of the State of Israel to present military proposals to foreign countries despite being outside the government. This deliberate blurring of public and private sectors reflects an Israeli policy aimed at marketing 'combat expertise' as a commercial product, while ensuring that these operations remain under indirect supervision from security agencies in Tel Aviv.

After years of diligent work in back channels, results began to appear on the ground through the signing of official security agreements between Israel, Ivory Coast, and Mongolia. It was not long before technical reports detected the use of Israeli spy software such as 'Pegasus' in these countries, confirming that unofficial channels were merely a prelude to imposing cyber dominance.

Epstein's network provided Israel with unique access to financial and power elites in Silicon Valley and in African and Asian capitals alike. Through financial engineers like Epstein and security officials like Barak, Israel was able to build a surveillance export empire that transcends the boundaries of international laws and diplomatic norms.

The Ivory Coast case remains a stark example of how political crises turn into investment opportunities for Israeli security companies. After the UN arms embargo on the country was lifted, Israeli companies were the first to enter the market thanks to the prior arrangements made by Epstein and Barak, raising questions about Israel's role in engineering political changes to serve its commercial interests.

Epstein's 'secret fund' continues to reveal the hidden depths of his relationships with the Israeli security establishment, which appear to have gone beyond mere personal friendships to strategic alliances. These alliances enabled Israel to transform surveillance technologies into a tool of political pressure and a bargaining chip in its international relations, far from any human rights accountability.

Ultimately, this issue highlights how the boundaries between the state and private companies in Israel have blurred, with former senior officials acting as sales agents for spy technologies. As documents continue to emerge, it appears that what was known about Epstein's relationship with Israel is merely the tip of the iceberg in a global system of surveillance and cyber control.

If Ehud wants to make a lot of money, he has to build a relationship with me... Time, attention, consistency, and repetition.