Pegasus scandal: NSO owner likely to be liquidated, says report

London-based private equity firm Novalpina Capital, which has a majority stake in the NSO Group —  the Israeli spyware company at the heart of the Pegasus scandal, will be dissolved after a months-long dispute between its partners, Sky News reported. 

The management of the assets of the firm are taken over by a third party and the manager of its fund has been removed, the report said. 

“The development, which has yet to be made public, is expected to be formalised through a further vote among Novalpina’s fund investors — or limited partners (LPs) — during the first half of August,” the report said citing sources.

The development will represent another twist in the escalating scandal over the activities of NSO, whose spyware Pegasus has been used to infect the mobile devices of targets to extract messages and record calls.

French business daily Les Echos on Novalpina liquidation reported that “the espionage scandal may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back”. NSO has denied any wrongdoing, labelling the allegations “false”.