The Attorney General's Office (FGR) is investigating Peña Nieto for a multimillion-dollar bribe from Pegasus.

The largest espionage scandal in Mexico's recent history is back on the rise. The Attorney General's Office (FGR) has opened an investigation into former President Enrique Peña Nieto for his alleged involvement in a $25 million bribery scheme to operate Pegasus.

The Attorney General of the Republic, Alejandro Gertz Manero, has confirmed what seemed like a ghost from the past: former President Enrique Peña Nieto (EPN) is being formally investigated in the Pegasus case. The Attorney General's Office (FGR) has opened an investigation following revelations in Israel that Peña Nieto allegedly received a $25 million bribe to facilitate the purchase and operation of the controversial spyware during his administration.

The accusation, which the former president has described as "totally false," stems from a secret arbitration between Israeli businessmen, who reportedly detailed the $25 million "investment" in the then-Mexican president to secure the spyware contracts.

"We have already opened a file, of course, and we are going to demand that the Israeli authorities include this information they provided in the media so we can move forward," Gertz Manero stated, confirming the seriousness of the investigation.

Despite the forcefulness of the announcement, the path to bringing Peña Nieto to justice is complex and fraught with legal and diplomatic obstacles. Prosecutor Gertz Manero himself has admitted that the viability of the case depends on one crucial factor: the cooperation of the Israeli authorities.

The Attorney General's Office (FGR) must ensure that information, which until now has been media-based, acquires "legal validity," that is, that it is legally validated so it can be used as evidence in a Mexican court. This is done through an "international legal assistance" mechanism, a process that, according to the prosecutor, has not been easy in the past.

"Our relationship with these authorities hasn't been easy. We've had many problems, dating back practically to what happened in Ayotzinapa, and we have cases that have been pending there for several years. I hope we get a faster response in this case," Gertz Manero admitted.

This statement reveals the true crux of the matter: the investigation could stall if Israel does not cooperate expeditiously, turning the announcement into a political gesture with no real criminal consequences.

The Pegasus scandal, uncovered in 2017, revealed a massive spying operation during the Peña Nieto administration. An international investigation documented that at least 15,000 phone numbers in Mexico were targeted by the spyware, including those of journalists, human rights activists, and political opponents.

The software, developed by the Israeli company NSO Group, is capable of taking complete control of a mobile device, accessing messages, calls, the camera, and the microphone without the user's knowledge. Its use against civilians represented one of the greatest attacks on privacy and freedom of expression in the country's modern history.

The new investigation against Enrique Peña Nieto for alleged bribery reopens this dark chapter. Beyond the judicial outcome, the case once again brings to the fore the debate on abuses of power, corruption at the highest levels, and the urgent need for accountability mechanisms that extend even to those who have held the nation's highest office.