An Israeli tech firm that sells security products in the United States claimed to cut ties with its chairman, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, following revelations of his close ties to deceased multimillionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein—although records indicate Barak may still have a stake in the company.
But Carbyne has also received negative attention for its ties to Barak and Epstein. The company has distanced itself from the two.
“In addition to Mr. Barak’s resignation from the Board, all shares owned by Mr. Barak’s Sum (E.B) LLP are being moved to IBI and will be sold in the coming weeks to a new investor who has been identified,” Carbyne stated in a press release.
The registry is supposed to be updated regularly by the government, and its record is the basis for believing Barak has, at least as recently as July, had ties to Carbyne.
When contacted by The Epoch Times, Carbyne initially said Barak is “no longer with Carbyne.” But when presented with the UK company records, Carbyne didn’t answer follow-up questions. Barak couldn’t be reached for comment.
Carbyne also declined to comment on follow-up questions about its reported connections to Epstein. Company officials initially denied the Haaretz report when contacted by The Epoch Times, saying that “Carbyne has never received money from Jeffery Epstein or had any type of communication with him.”
“None of the founders or the executive management of the company were aware of him investing,” Elichai told Forbes. “We never spoke with him, never talked with him, never knew that he was part of anything related to Carbyne.”
“According to Elichai, the company has been in contact with Epstein’s estate to find a way to buy back the dead financier’s stake in the company, which he says is ‘about 5 percent,’” Forbes reported at the time.
Originally known as Reporty Homeland Securities Ltd., Carbyne was founded in 2014 by former Israeli government agents Amir Elichai, Alex Dizengof, Lital Lesham, and Yony Yatsun. The company’s current board includes former DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff, former FEMA Director Robert David Paulison, and former FBI Assistant Intelligence Director Kevin Brock.
The company was relatively unknown for years. But after Epstein was arrested in July 2019, journalists began investigating every aspect of the accused sex trafficker’s life—including his connections to Barak, who was Carbyne’s chairman at the time.
“Epstein financed a considerable part of the investment, thus becoming a partner in the project,” Haaretz reported.
Barak reportedly declined to comment on Epstein for Haaretz.
“I saw the business opportunity and registered a partnership in my control in Israel. A small number of people I know invest in it,” Barak said in a statement to Haaretz. “Since these are private investments, it wouldn’t be proper or right for me to expose the investors’ details.”
“You don’t have to investigate—I confess,” he told The Times of Israel in July 2019. “I gave a second chance, both to Epstein and to Bibi [Netanyahu]. Both are now neck-deep in criminality. I expect both to recuse themselves until the truth is ascertained.
“For my part, all my activities were those of a private citizen, not a minister or prime minister. All were legal, reported to the authorities, and taxes were paid on them,” Barak said at the time.
“The stated purpose of Epstein’s [stake] in Carbyne was to help 911 callers by connecting the dispatch system to their cellphones’ microphone, GPS, and camera, giving the dispatcher a live feed of the caller’s surroundings,” the authors wrote of Epstein and Carbyne.
