For about three years, there has been uncertainty in Israel regarding which investigative body would take up the responsibility of investigating suspected corruption in the sale of the dangerous spyware Pegasus, to Ghana. Pegasus was manufactured and sold by Israeli company, NSO, under the approval of the country’s Ministry of Defence.
While there is interest in the matter in Israel, there is barely any whisper on the acquisition of Pegasus by the government in Ghana.
Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a lawyer and activist says the problem of state surveillance and spyware use in Ghana stems from multiple interconnected factors, including an absence of transparency.
A recent report by Shomrim, an independent investigative news organisation in Isreal, says even though a complaint has been filed against NSO and officials of the Ministry of Defence over the deal, for three years now no investigation has started.
“The task was eventually assigned to a special police fraud investigation unit. However, until that decision was made—over nearly three years—the case was passed around like a ‘hot potato’ among the State Attorney, the head of the police investigations division, and a special investigative unit within the Ministry of Defence,” Chaim Rivlin, a journalist who works for Shomrim told Ghana Business News.
“None of these bodies wanted to take on the investigation due to their proximity to the entity being investigated—NSO,” he added.
While the investigation of the sale of the dangerous spyware to Ghana is yet to finally happen in Israel, in Ghana, however, five years ago, three public officials have been convicted and jailed for their involvement in the deal.
An Accra High Court presided over by Justice Eric Kyei Baffour found the former government officials guilty of causing financial loss to the State in the matter of purchasing the Pegasus hardware produced by the Israeli company NSO, and sentenced them to various prison terms.
The officials are the former Director-General of the National Communications Authority (NCA), William Tetteh Tevie who was given a five-year jail term, Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie, the Board Chairman of the NCA received a six-year sentence and Salifu Osman, a former National Security Coordinator got five years.
The fourth accused in the case, Nana Owusu Ensaw, a former Board member of the NCA filed an appeal and had a ruling in his favour leading to his discharge.
The fifth accused, George Derick Oppong, former Director of Infralocks Development Limited (IDL), the local rep of NSO was acquitted and discharged.
The court further ordered the Attorney-General to seize assets belonging to the convicted persons estimated to be worth $3 million.
The convicts were charged among others for stealing, using public office for personal gains, and willfully causing financial loss to the state in respect of the purchase of the Pegasus hardware worth $4 million, which they said was to be used to fight terrorism.
The case was in court for three years.
Even though the case caught public attention, there was very little interest in the spyware, as the officials were convicted for causing financial loss to the state, and not for obtaining a dangerous spyware.
Shomrim states that while the prosecutor’s office has not moved on the case for almost two years, the Israeli police refused to investigate the matter, and the Director of Security at the Defence Ministry says, “it might have a conflict of interest.”
Shomrim cited an investigation by another Israeli news organization, ‘News 13′ in January 2022, in which the transaction documents between Ghana and NSO were published, detailing Pegasus’ attack capabilities, evidence that the system’s equipment was installed in a safe house whose address was different from the address provided by NSO to the Israeli Ministry of Defence, as well as series of questions that required, at the very least, an examination by the Defence Export Control Division at the Ministry of Defence, which approved the transaction.
It states further that following the ‘News 13’ investigation, in May 2022, one of Israel’s well-known lawyers and activist, Eitay Mack contacted the Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, demanding that a criminal investigation be conducted against NSO and officials in the Defence Export Control Division at the Ministry of Defence.
‘Shomrim’ also learned that the Ombudsman for State Representatives in the Courts, retired Judge Menachem Finkelstein, was also required to address the ongoing investigation into the case. In response to a request from Attorney Mack, Finkelstein wrote that there are several complaints against transactions made by NSO that are awaiting a decision. Finkelstein contacted Isman and the Attorney General and recommended that they open a “shortcut” for handling complaints regarding the export of Pegasus to various countries, “since the serial prolongation of the handling of any request on this subject causes difficulty and inconvenience and may seriously harm the ability to conduct the investigation and the legal process, if a decision is made to do so. We also know that such a delay may – after a long time – serve as an important element in the decision not to open an investigation.”
As mentioned, with or without Commissioner Finkelstein’s intervention, the police opened an examination of the affair, Shomrim said.
Shomrim reported that Mack, who specializes in human rights and defence export control, claimed that refraining from investigating the affair on the Israeli side would cause serious damage.
“A ‘stain’ will forever be found on the Internet in the form of a final ruling by the High Court in Ghana regarding the involvement of an Israeli company, operating under a license from the Israeli authorities, in an international corruption case,” Mack wrote to the Attorney-General.
Rivlin says unfortunately, the Israeli public has shown little interest in this affair. “The country has been preoccupied with ongoing political and legal turmoil ever since an indictment was filed against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. From that moment on, almost every issue has become politicized, largely depending on whether one belongs to his supporters’ or opponents’ camp,” he said.
When asked if the investigation in Israel would in any way have an impact on Ghana, Rivlin said: “The deal with Ghana should have raised red flags among the Israeli professionals responsible for overseeing sensitive transactions of this kind. It’s quite clear that the case warrants an investigation. However, I doubt it will have any real impact on Ghana, nor do I believe it will significantly affect NSO or the Ministry of Defence officials who approved the deal.”
Absence of public discourse on Pegasus in Ghana
The Ghanaian public is literally oblivious of the presence of Pegasus in the country. Civil society organisations and the media have equally not shown interest in raising concerns about the possession of Pegasus by the government, even though they are prime targets of intrusion, just like opposition politicians.
Barker-Vormawor, who once accused state operatives of hacking his phone told Ghana Business News, the absence of public discourse about Pegasus isn’t surprising.
“There’s a deliberate effort by successive governments to keep digital surveillance under the radar. Combine that with a general lack of public understanding about digital rights and privacy, and you get a society where people don’t demand answers—because they either aren’t aware of the problem, or they feel powerless to act,” he said.
Barker-Vormawor further explains that the problem of state surveillance and spyware use in Ghana stems from multiple interconnected factors: such as an absence of transparency. The government has never formally publicly disclosed whether it has acquired or deployed spyware like Pegasus, leaving citizens in the dark.
He said a weak legal framework is also a contributing factor. “Existing laws on surveillance and digital privacy are either inadequate or not properly enforced. The Data Protection Commission lacks investigative and enforcement powers comparable to institutions like CHRAJ,” he said.
Thirdly he says there is limited public awareness. “Many citizens, including journalists and activists, do not fully understand the risks of digital surveillance and the tools available to protect themselves,” adding that there is an absence of oversight mechanisms.
“There is no strong parliamentary oversight on surveillance practices, making it difficult to hold government agencies accountable,” he said.
He however made the following recommendations, among other things, urging legal action that challenges government surveillance practices, demands transparency, and strengthens digital privacy laws, and called for advocacy for reforming the Data Protection Commission to have investigative and enforcement powers similar to CHRAJ in respect of privacy concerns; and state surveillance.
Barker-Vormawor also called for campaigns to educate the public about digital rights, surveillance threats, and self-protection measures.
“There is also a need for strong Parliamentary oversight and policy advocacy, for digital security training and protection to equip activists, journalists, and citizens with the tools and knowledge to protect their digital communications from surveillance. Finally, we need strong coalition building and international pressure,” he said.
While the Israeli media and civil society push for inquiry into suspected corruption in the transaction between Ghana and NSO, and the Ghanaian public remains detached from the issues, the Ghana government and its operatives still have access to Pegasus, a spyware with zero-click capabilities – which means it can be used to take over devices without the owner having to play any role.
By Emmanuel K Dogbevi
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The post Israeli state agencies delay investigation of suspected corruption in NSO’s Pegasus sale to Ghana appeared first on Ghana Business News.
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