New Delhi: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly ordered Mossad to step in and protect Indian billionaire Gautam Adani from a global campaign believed to be orchestrated by Hindenburg Research. Netanyahu took this step because the controversy broke just days before Adani Ports signed a $1.2 billion deal to buy a major stake in Israel’s Haifa Port, according to a media report, as he was concerned the report could harm not only the businessman’s reputation but also a key economic partnership between India and Israel.
Netanyahu, who was personally present during the Haifa deal discussions, reportedly met Gautam Adani in a private session. In that meeting, sources say Netanyahu conveyed deep concerns about the potential sabotage of Israel’s strategic interests, suggesting that the report might have been intended to derail not only the Haifa Port transaction but also broader economic and diplomatic cooperation between Israel and India.
What followed was the launch of a covert Mossad mission, internally dubbed Operation Zeppelin. Two of Mossad’s elite divisions – Tzomet, specialising in human intelligence, and Keshet, focused on cyber operations – were reportedly deployed to uncover the networks behind what was believed to be a coordinated smear campaign. The operation, spanning several continents including North America, Europe, and Australia, targeted Hindenburg’s founder, Nathan Anderson and other actors allegedly involved in the campaign. Mossad’s intelligence reportedly pointed to a network of activist lawyers, journalists, hedge funds, and political figures, many of whom were said to have links to the Biden administration, the US intelligence community, and billionaire financier George Soros.
One of the key revelations is that Mossad reportedly “targeted senior Indian opposition figures during this period, including Sam Pitroda, chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress and a close aide to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi”.
Pitroda, who resides in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, reportedly had his personal home servers hacked by Mossad in search of evidence linking Indian opposition leaders to the Hindenburg campaign. According to the report, the breach is said to have uncovered encrypted chatrooms and backchannel messaging suggesting coordination between Hindenburg operatives and Indian political figures. Mossad reportedly referred to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as a “bitter dynast” and tracked his movements, including “a meeting with Hindenburg-linked individuals in Palo Alto, California, in May 2023”.
By early 2024, Mossad had reportedly compiled a 353-page document referred to as the Zeppelin dossier. The dossier reportedly detailed extensive links between various actors, including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), and elements within Western media, portraying them as central players in a campaign to damage Adani’s global standing and undermine the India-Israel partnership. Mossad reportedly shared parts of the dossier with leading international media outlets, but most reportedly declined to run the story. Only the French outlet Mediapart published the findings related to the dossier.
The controversy deepened when, in late 2024, the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission initiated legal proceedings against Adani-related entities. These cases eventually collapsed under scrutiny, leading to the resignation of Breon Peace, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Around the same time, Adani’s legal team, led by global law firm Quinn Emanuel, issued a seven-page legal warning to Hindenburg Research.
In a dramatic turn, it was reported that in January 2025, Nathan Anderson agreed to dissolve Hindenburg Research in exchange for legal immunity. However, sources claim that this immunity was revoked shortly afterwards when Donald Trump returned to the US presidency January 20, 2025.
Throughout this entire period, Mossad is said to have maintained surveillance over key Indian opposition figures, including Rahul Gandhi and Sam Pitroda. The operation, according to the report, reinforced Israel’s belief that the attack on Adani had wider geopolitical implications and was aimed at undermining the strategic partnership between India and Israel.
IANS
