A reporter claimed that an Israeli private investigator is currently under U.S. custody and used Indian hackers for surveillance operations to ultra-wealthy Russians.

Scott Stedman, an independent journalist, told a New York court that Aviram Azari was a jailed private investigator who worked "on surveillance" and "cyber-intelligence operations at Russian oligarchs' behest." He cited a mixture of confidential and public sources.

Stedman stated in a declaration, that Oleg Deripaska was one of the Russian oligarchs in question. He claimed that Azari indirectly employed him in connection to a dispute in Austria.

In an email, Deripaska's spokeswoman stated that the allegations were "blatantly false." Azari's lawyer, who pleaded guilty last month to conspiring to commit hacking, and aggravating identity theft in another case, didn't return messages.

Stedman signed his declaration to support his request to subpoena Azari to obtain evidence to fight a U.K libel case filed against him in 2020 by Walter Soriano, British-Israeli security consultant.

Stedman, in a series articles, claimed that Soriano was a middleman for wealthy Russians as well as surveillance companies.

Soriano denied the allegations, and sued Stedman over the articles. Stedman was accused of setting up a campaign to defame, invade privacy, and harass.

Stedman's lawyer stated to the New York court that multiple confidential sources told the reporter Azari "worked closely for years with Soriano" and that the testimony and documents of Azari, a jailed private eye, could "corroborate Forensic News" reporting.

Shlomo Rechtschaffen, Soriano's lawyer, wrote to Reuters that Stedman's claims are "false" and unfounded and that there is no evidence that Azari and his client worked together.

Stedman stated in a statement to Reuters that he believed that Azari had worked with Mr. Soriano to develop cyber-related projects for Russian oligarchs, and other billionaires. He also said that Azari was being subpoenaed as part of his attempt to "protect my journalism and protect my business."

His lawyer stated last month that Azari is currently in Brooklyn federal prison awaiting sentencing for hacking related to the German financial technology company Wirecard AG.