Israeli intelligence and several Western countries, including the Vatican, the UK and Lithuania, collaborated with Milan-based Equalize to obtain classified information about the accounts of the Wagner PMC and its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin. According to Politico, Equalize, a private investigations company, collected information about thousands of people, including influential politicians and entrepreneurs. The collaboration involved access to financial data, banking transactions and police investigation records.

Equalize, known for its links to a number of covert hacking operations, is believed to have been a key player in a large-scale intelligence operation. One of its members was identified as Nunzio Samuele Calamuzzi, who is accused of coordinating and organizing these operations. According to law enforcement, Calamuzzi met with representatives of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad in February 2023 to discuss possible cooperation in uncovering financial traces of Prigozhin’s activities in the West. According to wiretaps, the meeting included a request to locate and examine bank accounts of Prigozhin and his company outside of Russia.

The sources claim that, to facilitate the transfer of data, Calamuzzi and the Israeli agents agreed to use the Vatican as a neutral platform for exchanging information. In return, the Israeli side offered to transfer information that could indicate the involvement of some representatives of the European Parliament in corruption schemes related to the promotion of Qatar's interests.