Eliminalia

Eliminalia, rebranded as 'Idata Protection' in January 2023^[1] is a Spanish company which has specialized in reputation management.^[2] It was founded in 2011 by Diego Sánchez, known as Dídac Sánchez.^[3][4] The technical offices are in Kyiv, Ukraine.^[5][6] Eliminalia is the property of Maidan Holdings, a Miami-based holding company.^[1]

Eliminalia

Type	Private Company
Industry	Online reputation
Founded	2011
Founder	Diego Sánchez, known as Dídac Sánchez
Headquarters	Kyiv, Ukraine Barcelona, Spain
Number of employees	85 (2020)
Website	eliminalia.com/en/

In 2015, Eliminalia offered its services without charge to anyone affected by the Ashley Madison data breach.^[7]

In 2020, Eliminalia received several vanity awards: Technology Innovator Awards 2020^[8] by AI Global Media and Cyber Security Company of the Year^[9] by Corporate LiveWire.

In 2021, Qurium [es], an NGO dedicated to the defense of digital rights, accused Eliminalia of creating a network of fake websites with back-dated articles^[10] and then spamming them with apparently legal DMCA takedown notices and GDPR complaints.^[11] These were intended to take down articles referring to corruption in Angola regarding Isabel dos Santos and Vincent Miclet.

Internal documents leak

In 2023, after a news leak of approximately 50,000 internal documents to French nonprofit Forbidden Stories, the company was accused of using 'blackhat tactics' to help clients in 50 countries, including torturers, convicted criminals, corrupt politicians, scammers and spyware companies to erase their past from the internet. Eliminalia allegedly uses an array of underhanded tactics to stifle criticism of its clients, from intimidating journalists to churning out fake news on websites such as Taiwan Times, Mayday Washington, CNN News Today, and London Uncensored - all of which are connected to Maidan Holdings (Eliminalia's parent company).^[1]

Using falsified copyright infringement notices, the company manipulates "right to be forgotten" laws, designed to protect people from malicious material online, by sending emails that appear to be from the European Commission to journalists and publishers of the unwanted articles. Two clients of Eliminalia are convicted drug traffickers; other clients included Venezuela officials,^[12] Malchas Tetruashvili (convicted of money laundering for Georgian mafia boss Tariel Oniani in 2019),^[13] José Mestré (convicted of cocaine trafficking in 2010),^[14] former bank officials at Banca Privada d'Andorra, as well as 'scammers, spyware companies, torturers, convicted criminals, corrupt politicians and others in the global underworld'.^[1] One has been charged with laundering money for a prostitution ring. Another sold U.S. equipment to the Syrian government. Three more are indicted for helping carry out a cryptocurrency scam that stole billions of dollars from investors.^[15][16][17]

As of January 2023, it appears that Eliminalia has rebranded as 'Idata Protection'.^[1]

References

1. "The Gravediggers: How Eliminalia, a Spanish reputation management firm, buries the truth". forbiddenstories.org. from the original on 2023-02-17. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
2. "Online data deletion firm says post-Brexit UK 'should retain right to erasure'". The National. from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
3. "Y el niño del centro de menores montó un imperio" [And the child from the youth center built an empire.]. El Mundo (Spain) (in Spanish). 6 September 2015. from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
4. Iliff, Laurence (27 May 2015). "Google Wages Free-Speech Fight in Mexico". Wall Street Journal. from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
5. Berberi, Leonard (7 November 2017). "Il ragazzo dal passato difficile che ti cambia la "web reputation"" [The boy with a difficult past who changes your "web reputation."]. Corriere della Sera (in Italian). from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
6. Digital, Confidencial (23 November 2020). "Entidades Bancarias usan Google para conocer pasado de clientes" [Banks use Google to learn about clients' pasts]. Confidencial Digital (in Spanish). from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
7. "Eliminalia recibe 523 solicitudes de borrado de datos en 72 horas por el escándalo Ashley Madison" [Eliminalia receives 523 data deletion requests within 72 hours due to the Ashley Madison scandal.]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 21 August 2015. from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
8. "Technology Innovator Awards 2020". www.cv-magazine.com.
9. "Corporate Awards". Corporate LiveWire. from the original on 2021-04-22. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
10. "Dark Ops Uncovered Episode I". Qurium. from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
11. "Dark Ops Uncovered Episode II". Qurium. from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
12. Irujo, Joaquín Gil, José María (February 17, 2023). "Mexican ex-governors, drug traffickers and Venezuela officials hired Spanish disinformation firm to whitewash their online image". EL PAÍS English Edition. from the original on 2023-02-27. Retrieved 2023-03-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
13. Sur, Europa (2020-04-15). "La mafia georgiana empleó una empresa de Gibraltar para operaciones de blanqueo" [The Georgian mafia used a company from Gibraltar for money laundering operations]. Europa Sur (in European Spanish). from the original on 2023-02-17. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
14. "Tycoon turned drug lord sells €30m mansion". The Local Spain. 2014-07-17. from the original on 2023-02-17. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
15. IRPI, OCCRP and. "Eliminalia: A Reputation Laundromat for Criminals". OCCRP. from the original on 2023-02-28. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
16. Pegg, David (February 17, 2023). "The Spanish firm that uses dubious methods to 'erase your past' from the internet". from the original on February 28, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023 – via The Guardian.
17. Boburg, Shawn. "Leaked files reveal reputation-management firm's deceptive tactics". Washington Post. from the original on 2023-02-27. Retrieved 2023-03-01.