Overview
- The Guardian cites leaked files and sources alleging London firms, led by Highgate with assistance from Elicius, ran a covert effort to gather material on the ICC staff lawyer who accused Karim Khan.
- Documents describe the collection of highly sensitive data, including passport details, flight records, and passwords from hacked troves, and show a request to obtain the accuser’s child’s birth certificate.
- People familiar with the project say it was commissioned by a high-level Qatari diplomatic unit referred to internally as the “client country” or “Q country.”
- The operation sought to link the woman to Israel to discredit her, but documents reviewed by The Guardian indicate no such evidence was found.
- Highgate confirms work on an ICC-related project but says it conducted an independent review into covert activities against the court, acknowledges a meeting with Khan’s representatives, and Khan’s lawyers say he had no knowledge of the alleged operation while he remains stepped aside during a UN inquiry that broadened after a second accuser came forward.