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A high-level Qatari government office reportedly paid a private intelligence firm to uncover information that would discredit a woman who accused International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan of sexual abuse.

The London-based Highgate firm was also tasked with linking the woman to Israel, although no such information was uncovered, the Guardian reported. Khan issued arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant last year.

Highgate and a smaller firm called Elicius Intelligence did obtain significant private information about Khan’s alleged victim and her family, the Guardian said.

Khan stepped aside in May pending an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct, which he has categorically denied. A United Nations investigation is underway, and Khan has since been accused of retaliating against staff who supported his accuser, including demoting several people he felt were critical of him.

The operation targeting Khan’s accuser began earlier this year, with Highgate executives involved, careful to only refer to their client as “client country” or “Q country,” the Guardian said.

The information obtained included the woman’s passport details, passwords she used for online accounts, and a private email address apparently obtained through the dark web. Highgate also sought information on the flights she took as well as the birth certificate of her young child.

Highgate staffers also met with Khan’s representatives, people familiar with the matter told the Guardian.

In a statement to the Guardian, Highgate confirmed having led an operation related to the ICC but insisted that it had not “acted against any individual” and denied having been commissioned by the “government of Qatar.”

The Highgate statement called the Guardian’s claim that it sought information on the woman’s child “inaccurate.”

“Highgate led an independent assessment into potential covert or improper activities that may have sought to undermine the credibility, independence, or efficiency of the ICC,” it said. “The review has considered several incidents involving multiple individuals over an extended period.”

Highgate did not deny meeting Khan’s representatives, but described such information as “private, commercially sensitive and confidential.”

Khan’s lawyers also did not deny that such a meeting took place but said his representatives had “no knowledge of, let alone involvement in, the alleged activities” of Highgate.

Elicius Intelligence declined to comment. The government of Qatar did not respond to a request for comment.

In August, the Guardian reported that a second woman had come forward to accuse Khan of sexual misconduct.

In April, it was reported that United Nations investigators examining the allegations of sexual misconduct were also looking into charges that Khan retaliated against staff who reported such allegations or were critical of his handling of the matter.

Khan’s associates have tried to paint the initial allegations as a pro-Israel smear campaign.

Pro-Israeli interests “may have exploited the story but they didn’t create the story,” an ICC source — one of five who rejected the Israeli-plot thesis — told the newspaper.

On November 24, 2024, the ICC issued warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant on suspicion of ordering war crimes during Israel’s campaign against the Hamas terror group in Gaza, following the October 7, 2023, invasion, massacres and hostage-takings in southern Israel.

Jerusalem denies the allegations, asserting that its war, whose aims are to return the hostages, defeat Hamas and prevent a future threat from Gaza, is fought in accordance with international law.

ICC warrants were also issued against three Hamas leaders, all of whom have since been killed by Israel.

Source: Times of Israel