Slovenia’s election was already tense. Then a private intelligence firm showed up and made everything worse. Authorities say operatives from Black Cube, a company founded by former Israeli military personnel, travelled to Ljubljana, carried out covert surveillance and helped release recordings that appear to show prominent Slovenian figures discussing corruption, illegal lobbying and misuse of state money. The tapes surfaced days before Slovenia’s March 2026 vote.

Who reportedly came and what they did

Slovenian investigators say a private jet landed one cold December day carrying Dan Zorella, the CEO of Black Cube, Giora Eiland, a former head of Israel's National Security Council, and two other men. The state now accuses those operatives of covert surveillance and wiretapping and says the resulting recordings were released to damage Prime Minister Robert Golob’s government just before the election.

How politicians reacted

The two campaigns reacted exactly as you would expect. The opposition Slovenian Democratic Party, led by Janez Janša, says the tapes prove corruption at the top. Golob and his supporters claim the leaks show an attempt by foreign actors to influence the vote and to help the opposition regain power. Golob described any foreign interference in an EU member state as unacceptable and warned about the risks to democratic integrity.

SDS at times embraced the recordings, with party voices even suggesting the operatives had uncovered corruption on a massive scale. Janša later admitted he had met with Black Cube’s Eiland, though he said he could not remember when. Activists who first reported the visits have welcomed any lawsuits that might clarify what the firm was doing in Slovenia and with whom they met.

State security steps in

Slovenia’s Intelligence and Security Agency, SOVA, briefed the National Security Council and backed claims that Black Cube meddled in the campaign. Vojko Volk, the state secretary for national and international security, said Black Cube representatives visited Slovenia four times in the past six months. Volk added that one team, including Zorella, spent time near the street where the SDS headquarters is located on December 11, although he stopped short of saying they entered the building.

SOVA’s leadership told officials that the interference was most likely commissioned from inside Slovenia. The agency warned that Black Cube has a record of releasing material at carefully chosen moments to politically discredit people, and that such actions could threaten national security and influence democratic elections.

Who is Black Cube

Black Cube was founded in 2010 and has offices in Tel Aviv, London and Madrid. The firm was started by Dan Zorella and Avi Yanus, both of whom served in the Israel Defense Forces. Its work often uses human intelligence and undercover operations, a style that has drawn scrutiny around the world.

Black Cube has been linked to several high profile controversies. It was accused of working for Harvey Weinstein to monitor journalists and accusers. In 2022, Romanian authorities convicted in absentia some operatives, including Zorella, over spying on the anti corruption chief Laura Kövesi. The company has also been connected to operations in Hungary that used fake online profiles and to other efforts where recordings later appeared in pro government media. The firm has previously said it operates within the law.

Political fallout beyond the tapes

The leaked recordings landed in an already polarized campaign. Golob leads a left liberal coalition that emphasizes pro EU policies and stability. He says a second mandate would allow him to pursue health care reform and boost economic competitiveness after a difficult first term marked by war in Ukraine, an energy crisis and high inflation.

Janša, a four time former prime minister who leads the SDS, is running on a platform that criticizes Golob’s economic record and promises tax cuts. SDS allies and members of the European People’s Party pushed other lines of attack in the final days of the campaign, including new pressure on an EU commissioner from Golob’s party over past allegations of collaboration with secret police decades ago.

What this means for voters

The scandal raises two central risks. First, it deepens political polarization by giving both sides fresh ammunition. Second, it highlights a growing European concern about covert influence operations around elections, whether by outside states, private intelligence firms or domestic actors who hire them. For Slovenian voters, the debate is now not only about policy and leadership, but also about how democratic processes should be protected from covert interference.

With the vote very close in polls, the recordings and the questions about who ordered them could have a decisive effect. Investigations and court actions may follow, but for now the episode has already reshaped the last days of the campaign and turned a national election into a wider conversation about foreign influence and private espionage tools in modern politics.

Background in brief

  • Black Cube was founded in 2010 by former Israeli military personnel and runs intelligence style operations.
  • Slovenian authorities say operatives visited the country four times in recent months and conducted surveillance and wiretapping before the tapes were leaked.
  • The recordings show high level figures discussing alleged corruption and misuse of funds, and were released shortly before the March 2026 election.
  • State security agency SOVA reported the interference to the National Security Council and warned it posed a risk to national security and democratic processes.