The 61
In his book Free Agent, Brian Crozier says in 1977 he was invovled in setting up a "a private sector operational intelligence agency" called The 61 to "provide intelligence in areas which governments were barred from investigating" and "to conduct secret counter-subversion operations in any country in which such actions were deemed feasible." [1]
In response to an assertion in The Guardian that The 61 were funded by the CIA, Crozier wrote a letter to the paper stating that: 'The bulk of its funds came from rich individuals and a few private companies. The CIA's share of its budget - in the 10 years it existed - never exceeded 5 per cent.' [2]