Published 21:18 IST, January 25th 2020
Jeff Bezos' girlfriend shared their personal chats to her brother who leaked them: Report
New report surfaces which reveal that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez, was behind leaking their personal chats to her brother, Michael Sanchez
Days after The Guardian reported that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' mobile phone got hacked by Saudi prince back in 2018, a new report surfaced which revealed that his girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez, was behind leaking their personal chats to her brother who later sold them to the National Enquirer.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the federal prosecutors in Manhattan even have evidence indicating that Lauren has leaked the personal text messages to her brother Michael Sanchez which contained 'flirtatious' messages from Bezos. The National Enquirer then reportedly also used the personal chats for its article about Bezos' extramarital affair which was published last year.
The messages reviewed by The Wall Street Journal were among the materials turned over to the federal prosecutors as part of the investigation into whether National Enquirer attempted to extort Bezos.The US attorney office has also been investigating whether the Amazon CEO's phone was hacked by Saudi Arabia Prince Mohammad bin Salman in 2018. The claims also come days after Bezos India visit with girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez.
Bezos' phone hacking
According to reports, Bezos' mobile phone got hacked after receiving a WhatsApp message from Saudi prince. The Guardian reported that the message from the personal account of Saudi Crown Prince carried an infected video file which probably triggered the intrusion into the phone. The digital forensics team is investigating the incident and, as reported by the US daily, large amounts of data were exfiltrated after the privacy breach. The alleged involvement of Saudi Crown Prince and his inner circle in the hacking of The Washington Post owner’s phone might open a can of worms as the incident was followed by the revelation of Bezos’ extramarital affairs and murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the Post’s columnist.
The reports of Saudi involvement in hacking is a huge setback for MBS who has been trying to repair the tarnished image after Khashoggi killing. In December, Saudi Arabia court convicted eight people in the killing of The Washington Post columnist but exonerated inner circle of MBS. Riyadh has also blatantly shunned the allegations. Calling the reports "absurd" Saudi Embassy in Washington said, "We call for an investigation on these claims so that we can have all the facts out."
Updated 21:18 IST, January 25th 2020