Pegasus Spyware Scandal: Colombia Probes $11 Million Purchase
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has requested that the Attorney General’s Office investigate the purchase of the Pegasus spyware for $11 million. According to Petro, Pegasus may have been used to monitor political opposition during the tenure of the previous president. In his appeal, Petro raised a critical question regarding how such a significant sum could have been transported out of the country in cash to purchase the spyware abroad. He stated that the funds for the Pegasus acquisition were flown to Israel via private jets, raising numerous suspicions.
The president clarified that in July and August of 2021, an Israeli bank reported an unusual transaction involving an $11 million agreement between NSO Group and the Colombian police intelligence service (Dipol). Cash payments were sent from Bogotá to Tel Aviv in two installments of $5.5 million each. Petro also pointed out that such operations should have raised red flags within Israel’s financial system. Although Israeli media had previously reported on Colombia’s acquisition of the Pegasus spyware, Petro’s statement marks the first official acknowledgment of these transactions.
Petro further emphasized that the deal was not formally processed through the national budget via the appropriate channels, calling the purchase “state-level money laundering.” The president expressed doubts about the legality of the acquisition, citing the absence of a court order required to authorize the seizure of funds, as mandated by Colombia’s constitution.
The president also voiced concerns over whether he or other politicians had been targets of surveillance and questioned the legal basis for such activities. However, Petro believes that the previous administration may have used Pegasus to leak information related to his electoral campaign. He called on regulators and police to provide the prosecutor’s office with all relevant documents and the software itself. This, he argued, is necessary to ensure citizens’ rights are protected and upheld. The former president, Iván Duque, and his administration have yet to respond to Petro’s allegations.
Pegasus has been repeatedly linked to the hacking of phones belonging to activists, journalists, and politicians worldwide. The spyware, developed by the Israeli company NSO Group, allows access to mobile devices, compromising the privacy of both personal and official data. There are also documented instances of its use against human rights defenders.
