An investigator that was hired to look into the release of private images of Amazon boss Jeff Bezos concluded that Saudi Arabian authorities hacked the Amazon chief’s phone to access his personal data.
Gavin de Becker linked the hack to extensive coverage carried out by The Washington Post newspaper, which is owned by Bezos, on the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last year.
“Our investigators and several experts concluded with high confidence that the Saudis had access to Bezos’ phone, and gained private information.”
“It’s clear that MBS considers The Washington Post to be a major enemy,” de Becker added referring to the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom the US Senate, after a closed-door briefing by the CIA, named as “responsible” for the murder.
Jeff Bezos hired Gavin de Becker & Associates to find out how his intimate text messages and photos made their way into the hands of the American tabloid Enquirer, which reported on the Amazon chief’s extramarital affair and divorce.
Bezos has accused Enquirer of “blackmail” for threatening to publish the intimate photos if he did not halt the investigation. Since, Amazon chief declined to do so, the publisher printed copies of emails from AMI.
Saudi Arabia has stressed that the crown prince was not involved in the killing of Khashoggi, and blamed the murder on rogue agents.