The operation would have been perfected in Ivan Duque’s administration. According to the media and news agencies, the funds for the purchase came from seizures to drug cartels, were not reported to Colombian tax authorities.
On September 22, an investigation carried out by Señal Colombia in collaboration with the Revista Raya uncovered new details about the acquisition of Israeli spy software Pegasus by the government of former President Iván Duque.
According to the investigation, a transaction was made in 2021 between the Colombian Executive and the company NSO Group, responsible for Pegasus, amounting to $11 million. This money would have been transported on a charter flight from Bogota to Tel Aviv and deposited with the Hapoalim Bank in Israel.
What has generated the most alarm is that, according to the report, the money used in the transaction would come from funds seized from drug trafficking.
The funds would not have been reported to either the Directorate of National Taxes and Customs (DIAN) or to the Colombian customs authorities.
Jorge Lemus, director of the National Intelligence Directorate (DNI), confirmed in the report that this operation could be described as a case of money laundering.
Israeli journalist Gur Megiddo, who obtained the bank information, said that the transaction raised suspicions due to the large sum of money involved, and that everything points to the origin of the funds being linked to illegal activities.
Megiddo said the company NSO Group moved the cash to prevent it from leaving a trail in Colombia’s financial and state system.
The report also highlighted that the Pegasus software, used in multiple countries, has been denounced for human rights violations and mass espionage.
However, Duke government officials deny any wrongdoing, de lining the allegations as part of a conspiracy narrative promoted by Gustavo Petro’s current government.
This new episode puts the ethics in the management of state recruitments under the magnifying glass and exposes the danger posed by the use of spy technology without adequate supervision.
Infobae was quoted as Senator Antonio José Correa of the U.S. Party, who announced that he will take the debate to Congress in October, seeking answers and clarifications about the impact and use of Pegasus in the country.
This article has been translated after first appearing in Prensa