Deel ‘spy’ avoids punishment as Irish court targets company’s CEO and legal team
Judge declines contempt charge for whistleblower, calls his conduct damaging but credits cooperation.
A Dublin court has declined to punish Keith O’Brien, the former Rippling payroll manager who admitted to spying for rival HR tech firm Deel, despite his destruction of key evidence in the high-profile corporate espionage case.
O’Brien, who admitted to smashing his phone with an axe and dumping it in a drain, avoided contempt sanctions on Thursday. Justice Mark Sanfey, presiding over the case in Ireland’s High Court, said that while O’Brien’s actions had “blatantly” breached court orders and caused damage to the litigation, his subsequent cooperation with Rippling’s legal team, public admission of wrongdoing, and personal distress made a punitive order unnecessary.
“It seems to me that he has suffered considerably,” the judge said, citing threats to O’Brien’s safety and the loss of his job. The judge also acknowledged that O’Brien’s efforts to comply with court orders since receiving legal advice “do him credit.”
O’Brien is a central figure in the civil suit filed by U.S.-based Rippling against Deel, its Israeli-founded competitor. In a sworn affidavit, O’Brien claimed Deel CEO Alex Bouaziz recruited him to remain at Rippling as a covert source and transmit confidential materials. He further alleged that he received $6,000 per month from Deel during the scheme and stayed in contact with Philippe Bouaziz, Deel’s CFO and the CEO’s father.
Court documents describe O’Brien’s regular transmission of Rippling’s internal strategies, customer data, and other sensitive materials to Deel. He has also accused Deel’s in-house lawyers Asif Malik and Andrea David Mieli of instructing him to submit false claims to authorities—including fabricated allegations of Russian-sanctioned payments by Rippling—in an effort to flip the narrative.
Justice Sanfey approved Rippling’s motion to formally add Bouaziz, Malik, and Mieli to the case. Deel has denied the allegations and has not yet responded in court. Rippling’s legal team noted on Thursday that Malik has reportedly moved to Dubai, complicating service.
Meanwhile, questions continue to swirl around internal fallout at Deel. Elisabeth Diana, the company’s longtime head of communications, quietly exited the firm in April. Deel has not addressed whether the resignation is related to the ongoing litigation.
