Madrid, December 2 (RHC)-- A private security firm that allegedly spied on Julian Assange in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London bragged about its activities and ties to U.S. intelligence, according to German public broadcaster NDR.

The troubling revelations are part of a criminal complaint filed by NDR against Undercover Global, a Spanish security company contracted by the Ecuadorian government to film and review guests at their embassy in London.

The firm is accused of using the commission to carry out a vast spying operation targeting the WikiLeaks co-founder, who sought political asylum in the embassy for seven years before his hosts handed him over to British authorities.  The German broadcaster claims to have a huge cache of documents detailing the illegal surveillance operation -- which also targeted NDR journalists who visited Assange.

Documents accessible to German Public Broadcaster NDR and WDR show how systematically WikiLeaks founder Assange and his visitors were spied on at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. 

Former employees of Undercover Global said that the company’s CEO, David Morales, didn’t try to hide his ties to the U.S. government.  Upon returning from a trip to the United States, Morales allegedly told one of his employees: “From now on, we play in the major leagues… We are now working for the dark side.”  He is said to have traveled up to twice a month to the U.S. to deliver materials taken from the Ecuadorian Embassy.

When asked by colleagues who his “American friends” were, Morales reportedly replied: “The U.S. Secret Service.”  A lawyer from Undercover Global acknowledged to NDR that the company works with U.S. intelligence agencies – but denied any wrongdoing at the Ecuadorian Embassy.   Government agencies in the U.S. and Ecuador declined to comment on the criminal complaint.