The phones of senior Belgian magistrates, lawyers, and police officers involved in the Qatargate scandal were hacked using Pegasus spyware, Belgian authorities confirmed in the latest turn of the fast-evolving EU espionage saga.
While federal authorities refused to comment on the matter due to the sensitive nature of the investigation, police sources described how an unknown number of officials involved in the Qatargate case, including the case’s chief investigator Michel Claise, had spyware covertly installed onto their devices.
The revelation fuels speculation that the scandal will expand further with growing speculation of the role played by Moroccan intelligence agencies already known for their use of Pegasus spyware.
Dubbed ‘Qatargate’ due to the involvement of the Gulf state of Qatar along with Morocco, the scandal first erupted in December with the arrest of multiple current and former EU parliamentarians on the suspicion of whitewashing human rights reports in exchange for money from authoritarian regimes.
In recent months, the scandal has expanded to heavily embroil the foreign intelligence services of Morocco. One of the alleged ringleaders in the scandal, Greek MEP Eva Kaili, claimed this month that her arrest was a smokescreen for a wider blackmailing operation involving multiple governments.
The type of spyware believed to have been found on the devices was the infamous Pegasus software developed by the Israeli arms company NSO, alleged to have been used by Morocco against senior Spanish officials.
Pegasus is known for its ability to bypass security measures and gain full access to an infected device, enabling it to monitor and collect various types of data, including messages, calls, emails, and even microphone and camera usage. The spyware is often installed by getting users to click on fake emails or taking advantage of security gaps in data transmissions.
This is not the first Pegasus scandal in Brussels. In 2022, various Commission employees had their phones hacked. Spyware has since been a salient topic in the European Parliament due to allegations of various EU governments monitoring dissidents.
As a precautionary measure following the revelations, Belgian police officials have advised individuals affected not to take their phones into private meetings for fear of covert recording.
The bombshell revelation is just the latest sign of a growing controversy that is likely to implicate more foreign actors and indicate the extent to which European institutions have been penetrated by foreign intelligence agencies—whoever they may be.
