Amit Forlit, an Israeli national, faces prosecution in New York for running a hacking operation that targeted climate advocacy groups. The UK court greenlit his extradition after it's alleged his actions profited a lobbying firm for ExxonMobil while the oil giant denies any involvement.
Judge Sanctions Extradition of Man Accused of Hacking Environmental Organizations
Judge Sanctions Extradition of Man Accused of Hacking Environmental Organizations
A London court has granted extradition of Amit Forlit, linked to hacking operations benefiting ExxonMobil, amid ongoing climate lawsuits.
In a significant legal ruling, a court in London has endorsed the extradition of Amit Forlit, a 57-year-old Israeli man accused of running a nefarious "hacking-for-hire" scheme that primarily targeted environmental organizations. This decision comes after New York prosecutors brought charges against him, claiming that Forlit's companies generated upwards of $16 million by illegally accessing sensitive information from more than 100 entities.
The prosecution highlights that Forlit's operation allegedly worked on behalf of a lobbying firm linked to ExxonMobil, which has attracted scrutiny and multiple lawsuits from Democratic attorneys general concerning its role in climate change. These lawsuits allege that ExxonMobil concealed its knowledge of climate change for decades to sustain its oil sales. In court filings earlier this year, Forlit's defense pointed to ExxonMobil as the oil company involved, with the lobbying firm named as DCI Group.
ExxonMobil has since issued a statement denying any knowledge of, or participation in, the alleged hacking activities, asserting their strong disapproval if such actions indeed occurred. Furthermore, Craig Stevens, a spokesperson for DCI Group, emphasized that their employees are instructed to comply with the law and insisted that no one at DCI had directed the alleged hacking activities from around a decade ago. DCI Group also labeled claims made by environmental activists as conspiracy theories, questioning the motivations behind them.
As the case progresses, the implications of these accusations could reverberate throughout the ongoing clash between environmental advocates and corporate interests in the context of climate change accountability.
