2024-09-27 20:18:32
Former prosecutor Francisco Barbosa addressed the issue of Israeli Pegasus espionage and his lack of knowledge about the use of this software during his mandate.
Barbosa assured that during his tenure at the Attorney General’s Office he was not aware about the acquisition or use of Pegasus: “We did not have any type of information about Pegasus when I was prosecutor, we found out with this statement that President Petro gave.”
This statement refers to the revelations of President Gustavo Petro, who indicated on September 4 that, during the government of former President Iván Duque, 13 million dollars would have been paid to acquire the controversial software.allegedly violating international confidentiality agreements. This complaint caused the Egmont group, a key international organization in the fight against money laundering, to exclude Colombia from its network.
You may be interested: Court ratified conviction of former ministers and former director of Dapre for Yiddish politics
Barbosa also expressed his concern about the consequences that this exclusion will have for the country, stating that “it is very serious not to be in this group, because currently crime is not only local, but it is transnational.” The former prosecutor highlighted that the Egmont network is essential for the exchange of information between nations on crimes such as money laundering and terrorist financing.
«The main beneficiaries of this denunciation are international criminals, who now feel more comfortable moving resources from one place to another without adequate scrutiny.«Barbosa warned, underlining the importance of belonging to this network to combat global crime effectively.
Colombia’s exclusion from the Egmont group marks a major setback in the country’s international efforts to coordinate actions against organized crime, leaving the country without a crucial tool in the fight against illicit financial networks operating globally.
You can read: Colombia recovered more than 100 cultural assets repatriated from the United States