Private intelligence agency Black Cube has attempted to squash a New Jersey court order that gave it 60-minutes to explain why it should not reveal the name of its secret client.
Black Cube is the author of a highly damaging 2021 report into Evolution’s alleged operations in prohibited jurisdictions, which the company strongly denies, that resulted in more than $14bn in value being wiped from the company’s share price.
First reported by NEXT.io, Black Cube were revealed as the investigative company that had compiled the report after a New Jersey court ordered the law firm that had acted as the report’s public face, Calcagni & Kanefsky (C-K), to reveal its client.
This came after the court concluded the 2021 report “lacks veracity”, following two state regulators closing their probes in Evolution’s conduct without action.
However, C-K claims to have no knowledge of the entity which originally commissioned the report, and has already provided all information in its possession.
Nevertheless, this remains one of the most intriguing mysteries in US gaming within the past few years.
Evolution, for its part, previously moved to compel Black Cube to answer three interrogatories focused on the “Anonymous Client’s” identity.
Following a hearing on Thursday (14 August), the New Jersey court gave Black Cube 60-minutes to respond to Evolution’s discovery requests that included: “[t]he identity of all individuals and/or business entities who had any role in requesting, soliciting, sponsoring, or financing the Report or Investigation and/or in retaining, directing, or paying for the services of Black Cube and/or C-K in connection with the Report or Investigation”.
Is the secret Black Cube client an Evolution competitor?
As previously reported, NEXT.io has heard from a source present at an internal investor meeting that the group whom commissioned the report is a major online gaming supplier. However, this has not been confirmed and there are other possibilities.
Evolution also requested the identity of everyone involved in the investigation, invoices for all payments related to the report, the names of anyone provided with a copy, as well as a deposition of Black Cube’s director Dr. Avi Yanus.
Meanwhile, Evolution has filed a motion to compel the evidence from Black Cube, which is due to be heard on 29 August.
It follows Black Cube issuing a 118-page affidavit earlier in the week containing new clandestine evidence gathered by the group, which resulted in Evolution losing approximately 8% of its shareholder value, according to a Bloomberg report.
In response, Evolution told NEXT.io the bundle was a new attempt from the intelligence agency to shift the focus away from revealing the name of its secret client.
A Black Cube spokesperson told NEXT.io earlier in the week: “The affidavit submitted by Black Cube to the court today spans more than 120 pages and details extensive operations conducted over the past four years, utilising HUMINT, OSINT, and investigative gambling techniques.”
Responding to the 60-minute window to reply to the requests, Black Cube’s attorneys objected, arguing the brief window represented a breach of its due process rights.
The business’ lawyers wrote: “Within the one-hour timeframe provided by this Court, Black Cube endeavors to set forth below its objections to Evolution’s discovery requests, and to the abbreviated timeline this Court provided Black Cube to contest the relevance of such requests. It is impossible, however, within this constrained timeline, to do so in a manner that sufficiently preserves its rights and articulates its defenses.”
Evolution alleges Black Cube used AI-generated journalist to smear business
Another one of the discovery requests submitted by Evolution requested “the identities of anyone involved in an article or public story concerning Evolution, the Report or its allegations, or the Investigation.”
Evolution has claimed in prior court filings that intelligence firm Black Cube created a fake persona called “Daniel Elliot” to smear the business in an online article.
In its previous latest amendment to its lawsuit, Evolution said the article attributed to Elliot, published in August 2023 by the International Business Times, was part of a broader conspiracy orchestrated by Black Cube and an anonymous client to harm the company’s reputation.
According to the filing, “Daniel Elliot” does not appear to be a real person, and his byline photo was allegedly AI-generated.
While Black Cube has acknowledged involvement in compiling the 2021 report, it has denied wrongdoing and said it stands behind the accuracy of its findings.