Nicolas Giannakopoulos

FARA/LDA search results: Neither Cambridge Analytica nor SCL Group registered under FARA (Foreign Agents Registration Act) or filed LDA lobbying disclosures, despite conducting election influence operations in multiple countries (Trinidad, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts, Malaysia, Nigeria, Kenya). This mirrors the Epstein network pattern of systematic FARA avoidance documented in Wave 6. SCL International Group Ltd registered as BVI offshore entity (reg #677767, incorporated 2005-09-23, Portcullis TrustNet Chambers, Road Town, Tortola) per ICIJ Offshore Leaks database.

Giannakopoulos was SCL Group (Cambridge Analytica parent) partner in Switzerland since 2010. One of his Swiss companies shared an address and phone number with SCL's Geneva office. He was the SCL agent for Switzerland and their conduit into Swiss academic/intelligence circles.

KAZAKHSTAN OPERATION: Prior to the 1MDB seminar, Giannakopoulos conducted a covert lobbying operation for the Kazakh government (2014-2015) targeting fugitive oligarch Mukhtar Ablyazov. FTI Consulting (London PR firm serving Kazakhstan) activated Giannakopoulos's OCO (Organized Crime Observatory) to produce a purportedly independent but critical report portraying Ablyazov as a swindler hiding behind political persecution. FTI employee Jonathan Hawker coordinated the operation. Giannakopoulos held meetings at Reed Smith law firm in London with FTI representatives. He claimed to refuse FTI payment for the OCO report but acknowledged accepting research contracts from companies close to the Kazakh government through his company Inside.co. Pattern: academic/NGO credentials used as cover for intelligence-for-hire operations -- identical to the 1MDB seminar one year later.

Barkmere Limited, the shell company controlled by Benedetti through which Misra paid USD 500K for the SoftBank operation, is registered in Cyprus (HE 338259, incorporated 2014-11-24), identified via OCCRP Aleph. The timing -- incorporated November 2014, operation began 2015 -- suggests it was created specifically for this purpose. Registered at Spyrou Kyprianou 18, Floor 2, 1075 Nicosia. Reports also reference a Barkmere Group (BVI), suggesting a multi-jurisdiction structure.

Giannakopoulos conducted intelligence operations for Malaysian PM Najib Razak related to 1MDB scandal (2016-2017). Organized bogus University of Geneva seminar to gather intelligence on 1MDB critics and opposition politicians. Suspended from University of Geneva after exposure by Sarawak Report, then terminated. SCL Group's Southeast Asia office in Kuala Lumpur directed by Azrin Zizal, connecting Giannakopoulos-SCL-Malaysia intelligence operations.

In the SoftBank operation (2015-2016), Giannakopoulos distributed screenshots of Nikesh Arora and Alok Sama's private banking records and emails to journalists. He was positioned as the nominal shareholder behind the Boies Schiller Flexner LLP complaint letter sent to SoftBank board (Jan 20, 2016, signed by partner Matthew Schwartz). He was recruited as subcontractor by Alessandro Benedetti, who was paid USD 500K from Rajeev Misra via Standard Chartered Bank to Barkmere Group (BVI/Cyprus).

BOGUS SEMINAR MECHANICS: The University of Geneva seminar took place October 26-27, 2016, formally hosted by the Observatory on Security (OUS) at the Global Studies Institute (GSI). Giannakopoulos invited senior Malaysian civil society figures and 1MDB investigators including Clare Rewcastle Brown (Sarawak Report editor), promising Swiss officials would brief on 1MDB investigation progress. Political leaders Muhyiddin Yassin (former Deputy PM) and Nurul Izzah Anwar (opposition MP) were listed as speakers but did not attend. No Swiss officials appeared. Giannakopoulos steered discussions toward how frozen Swiss-seized 1MDB assets could be diverted to an NGO the attendees could join -- intelligence collection disguised as civic engagement. Cost CHF 17,000 paid privately by Giannakopoulos, not by the university as initially claimed. University had no knowledge the event was taking place despite formal invitations sent in its name.

Giannakopoulos operated within a larger intelligence-for-hire ecosystem with direct Epstein network overlaps: (1) Boies Schiller Flexner was used by Giannakopoulos to send the SoftBank shareholder letter AND represented Epstein victims (Giuffre). (2) K2 Intelligence was hired to investigate SoftBank targets alongside the Giannakopoulos operation. (3) Tal Hanan/Team Jorge did business with Cambridge Analytica (LittleSis rels #1913078-79). (4) Psy-Group had a relationship with CA from Dec 2016. These overlapping private intelligence firms suggest a shared ecosystem rather than isolated operations.

LittleSis network analysis reveals the Cambridge Analytica/SCL ecosystem had significant overlaps with known intelligence-for-hire firms: (1) Team Jorge (Tal Hanan's Israeli disinformation operation) did business with CA. (2) Psy-Group (Joel Zamel's firm, investigated by Mueller) had a CA relationship from Dec 2016. (3) SCL Group did business with Michael Flynn (Nov-Dec 2016). (4) SCL Group was owned by Vincent Tchenguiz (Iranian-British financier involved in Kaupthing bank collapse). (5) Sophie Schmidt (Eric Schmidt's daughter) interned at SCL Group. (6) Cambridge Analytica was owned by Gravitas Maximus LLC (Mercer family). These connections place Giannakopoulos within a private intelligence ecosystem that intersected with multiple nodes in the Epstein network.

UNIVERSITY TERMINATION AFTERMATH: University of Geneva terminated Giannakopoulos in June 2017 after internal investigation found: (1) his appointment as Vice-Director of OUS was never formally endorsed by the Global Studies Institute, (2) seminar funding was never formally submitted or endorsed, (3) he used university premises and branding without authorization. His superior Prof. Frederic Esposito at the Global Studies Institute was also implicated. After termination, Giannakopoulos faced defamation complaints from SoftBank and Alok Sama at the Geneva Public Prosecutor's Office (filed Dec 23, 2016). Giannakopoulos counter-filed alleging computer attacks on his company Global Risk Profile. No public record of criminal conviction. He continued operating through Miles SA, OCO, Global Risk Profile, and later founded Apex Fusion Foundation (Zug, blockchain, 2024). Still speaks at conferences including Corporate Intelligence & Security Conference.

The Cambridge Analytica link to Bannon creates a two-hop connection: Giannakopoulos was SCL/CA partner since 2010; Bannon was CA Vice President Jun 2014 - Aug 2016 (LittleSis rel #1320305). However, there is NO direct evidence of Giannakopoulos-Bannon contact or coordination. The timing is notable: Giannakopoulos ran the SoftBank operation in 2015-2016 while Bannon led CA; Bannon then entered Epstein's orbit in Jan 2018. Richard Kahn forwarded a Senate Intelligence Committee article about Bannon being grilled about Cambridge Analytica to Epstein (EFTA02610736, Dec 6, 2018).

Giannakopoulos is a Swiss-Greek political scientist/criminologist who operates multiple intelligence companies: Inside.CO SA (Geneva, criminal investigations), Miles SA (Swiss criminal investigations), Global Risk Profile (risk consulting). President and co-founder of OCO (Organized Crime Observatory). Vice-Director of the University Observatory on Security at the University of Geneva. Chairman of Apex Fusion Foundation (Zug, blockchain). Led Swiss Confederation three-year research program on Swiss Corruption and Organized Crime.

Giannakopoulos operated parallel intelligence operations for both 1MDB (Najib Razak) and the SoftBank shareholder campaign (with Benedetti). His Geneva 'seminar' was exposed by Sarawak Report as a sham intelligence-gathering operation targeting 1MDB investigators and Malaysian opposition figures. University of Geneva terminated him after exposure. Giannakopoulos was also the Swiss agent for SCL Group (Cambridge Analytica parent), connecting 1MDB spy operations to the same data-manipulation ecosystem that Bannon led. The SCL/Cambridge Analytica connection is significant because Bannon had 985+ emails with Epstein and Cambridge Analytica articles appear in the Epstein corpus (EFTA02610736, EFTA02601042). Giannakopoulos represents the intersection of 1MDB intelligence, Cambridge Analytica data operations, and the Epstein-adjacent Benedetti/SoftBank network.

Giannakopoulos does NOT appear by name anywhere in the Epstein document corpus (DOJ Vol 11, LMSBAND, Unified DB, DDoSecrets). Zero hits across 461K+ documents. However, his principal Alessandro Benedetti DOES appear repeatedly as 'Allesandro de Benedetti-Paris' in Epstein's contact lists and reminders (EFTA02575276, EFTA02576024, EFTA02297224, EFTA02575400, EFTA02628256). Benedetti was on Epstein's Paris contact list alongside known associates.