Mexican Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero announced Tuesday that former President Enrique Pena Nieto is under investigation for allegedly receiving millions of dollars in bribes from Israeli businessmen during his time in office.
Avishai Neriah and Uri Ansbacher allegedly paid Pena Nieto $25 million to secure cybersecurity contracts involving NSO Group, the Israeli company behind the infamous Pegasus spyware, the Israeli news outlet The Marker reported.
The multimillion-dollar payment reportedly enabled Israeli cybersecurity firms to secure government contracts and gain access to insider information during Pena Nieto’s six-year term.
Spyware tools like Pegasus have drawn international concern and criticism for their use against journalists and human rights defenders in Mexico.
During Tuesday’s press briefing, Gertz Manero acknowledged the lack of concrete evidence in Mexico to support the allegations but said authorities would begin an official inquiry into the alleged bribes.
“Since the beginning of the previous administration, several complaints were filed that could not be corroborated with sufficient evidence. In this new case, however, there are now very specific reports indicating a connection with the companies that sold Pegasus -- including a response from the former president himself,” he said.
Tensions between Mexico and Israel have persisted, in part due to the Mexican government’s support for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine and its criticism of Israeli actions against Palestinians, a position that has drawn disapproval from Israeli authorities.
Compounding diplomatic tensions, Israel has provided refuge to a high-profile Mexican fugitive: Tomas Zeron, the former director of Mexico's Criminal Investigation Agency. He is wanted in Mexico for allegedly tampering with evidence and torturing suspects to cover up the mass disappearance of 43 students from the Raul Isidro Burgos Rural Teachers' College of Ayotzinapa in Iguala in southwestern Guerrero state on Sept. 26, 2014.
Zeron has been residing in Israel, which has refused to arrest or extradite him since 2019, when Mexico issued a formal warrant.
“Our relationship with these authorities has not been easy. We've had many problems that go back to what happened in Ayotzinapa, and there are cases that have been stalled for years,” said Gertz Manero.
As Mexico launches its investigation into Pena Nieto, the former president has denied the allegations, calling them unfounded and defamatory.
“I regret coming across reports that, without the slightest journalistic rigor, make careless and malicious claims. The report about alleged payments is completely false. It’s an insinuation entirely lacking in evidence," he wrote on X.
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