Greece's Predator Scandal Returns to the State Question

By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk

The Conviction That Changed the Track

On 26 February, an Athens court convicted four individuals linked to spyware firm Intellexa for the illegal surveillance of at least 87 people using Predator software. The court then referred its records to prosecutors for an espionage investigation.

The targets included politicians, journalists, senior military officials, and business figures. The defendants, Intellexa founder Tal Dilian, his business partner Sara Hamou, shareholder Felix Bitzios, and Krikel owner Yiannis Lavranos, each received combined sentences of 126 years and eight months, capped at eight years under Greek misdemeanor law. All four remain free pending appeal.

The 39-session trial went beyond the verdict. Prosecutor Dimitris Pavlidis has since opened three lines of inquiry: espionage, software trafficking, and the role of unnamed senior Intellexa managers. Parapolitika reported on 20 March that this new phase is expected to bring individuals who never appeared in the defendant's dock into prosecutorial focus for the first time.

Spiros Sideris, chief editor of the Independent Balkan News Agency and a confirmed Predator target, told Bosphorus News the referral marks "perhaps the first real opportunity for a thorough and credible investigation" after four years of delays.

"We Only Sell to Governments"

On 12 March, Dilian told the Greek investigative programme MEGA Stories that Intellexa provides surveillance technology exclusively to governments and law enforcement agencies. Testimony during the trial supported that account: Intellexa employee Panagiotis Koutsios told the court that company presentations were made only to state agencies.

These statements sit uneasily alongside the Greek government's position since 2022: that Predator was operated by private actors without state involvement. Opposition leader Nikos Androulakis, head of the centre-left PASOK party and a confirmed Predator target, said the government's narrative had collapsed. "Predator and illegal surveillance were the weapons of a deep state, set up by the prime minister and the Maximos Mansion," Androulakis said on 13 March. "Half of his cabinet, the heads of the armed forces, journalists, and state officials were illegally monitored."

Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis dismissed the accusation. He told SKAI television that Androulakis was using the surveillance issue as a political distraction and pointed to the Supreme Court's 2024 finding that cleared state officials of criminal involvement.

No court has established that the Greek state purchased or operated Predator. But the distance between "we sell only to governments" and "the state had nothing to do with it" is emerging as the central fault line in the case.

The Open Letter

Androulakis published an open letter on 22 March addressed to all public officials targeted by Predator, calling on them to join legal proceedings. "I believe I will not walk this path alone again," he wrote.

The letter cited trial evidence showing overlapping target lists between Predator's verified victims and individuals under active surveillance by the National Intelligence Service (EYP), which operates under the Prime Minister's Office. Multiple Greek media reports say EYP files relating to the surveillance of both Androulakis and journalist Thanasis Koukakis were destroyed. No official explanation has been made public.

Androulakis had earlier sent a letter to the European Parliament in Strasbourg outlining the case timeline and accusing Greek authorities of repeatedly reassigning judges who summoned key suspects. He also has a pending application before the European Court of Human Rights.

Sideris said he was never given an official explanation for his targeting. The only information he received was confirmation from the Authority for Communication Security and Privacy (ADAE) that he had been sent a message infected with Predator disguised as a COVID-19 vaccination notice.

Who Was on the List

Greek newspaper To Vima published on 9 March an official registry compiled by the Hellenic Data Protection Authority detailing individuals and organizations targeted by Predator. The list spans government ministers, advisers to Prime Minister Mitsotakis, lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties, the Hellenic Parliament, the Ministry of National Defence, and the Presidency of the Government.

Androulakis's open letter named more than 30 officials from across the state. Former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras was among them. So was Hellenic Police chief Michalis Karamalakis and the prosecutor responsible for overseeing EYP, Vasiliki Vlachou. The chief of the Hellenic Armed Forces, Konstantinos Floros, was also identified as a target. Alexis Papachelas, editor of Kathimerini, one of Greece's most established newspapers, appeared on the list as well. The surveillance of Greece's top military commander during a period of heightened tension in the Eastern Mediterranean has not been addressed in any official review of the case.

ADAE found Predator was used against more than 90 phone numbers. Media reports cited by Reporters Without Borders in 2023 suggested that as many as 40 of those targets may also have been under parallel surveillance by EYP, though no official confirmation has followed. No victim has been officially informed of the grounds for their surveillance. Greek media reports say ADAE has not complied with a ruling from Greece's highest administrative court requiring disclosure.

The Money Trail

Greek classified state expenditure totalled approximately €435 million between 2020 and 2024, exceeding budgeted amounts by more than 50 percent, in a review of Finance Ministry data published by investigative outlet Dikastiko Reportaz. Classified spending that rose sharply during that period is examined in an earlier Bosphorus News report.

Trial evidence showed the Ministry of Citizen Protection signed six classified contracts with Krikel, the company convicted of procuring Predator. The classified spending figures spiked in 2020 and 2021, overlapping with the period during which Predator was reported to have been deployed in Greece. Witness testimony during the trial suggested the procurement contracts for the spyware may have been concealed within other classified contracts.

The Ministry of Citizen Protection led all ministries with approximately €160.9 million in classified expenditure over the five-year period. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spent approximately €91.1 million. National Defence accounted for approximately €81.4 million. Greece has no dedicated parliamentary committee overseeing classified spending, according to Kostis Pikramenos, research director at strategic consultancy CP Consulting.

During the trial, journalist Eliza Triantafyllou testified that EYP made monthly payments of €500 to an individual whose prepaid card was used to send messages infected with Predator to politicians and journalists.

The Pressure on Journalists

The scandal has also produced legal pressure on those who exposed it. Grigoris Dimitriadis, former secretary-general to the Prime Minister and Mitsotakis's nephew, resigned on 5 August 2022 after EFSYN and Reporters United published evidence linking him to Intellexa. On the same day, he filed a defamation lawsuit against the outlets and journalist Thanasis Koukakis. An Athens court dismissed that case in October 2024, ruling that the reporting was accurate and in the public interest.

Dimitriadis filed a second lawsuit in November 2023 against many of the same defendants, seeking €950,000 in damages. That case is ongoing. The International Press Institute, Reporters Without Borders, and Human Rights Watch have all classified both suits as Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. In 2022, the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe awarded Dimitriadis its "SLAPP Politician of the Year" designation.

What the Court Record Now Shows

The European Parliament discussed the convictions and rule of law concerns in Greece on 11 March, bringing the case back to an EU institutional level. The prosecution has now opened an espionage track, while statements from Intellexa figures have reinforced the claim that the company sold only to government clients. Classified contracts linked to the Ministry of Citizen Protection overlapped with the period when Predator was reported to have been active, and surveillance files related to confirmed targets were destroyed without public explanation. Reports suggesting parallel targeting between Predator and state surveillance have added to the pressure, while legal cases against journalists who broke the story have struggled in court. The government maintains that private individuals acted alone.

***The conviction of Tal Dilian, Sara Hamou, Felix Bitzios, and Yiannis Lavranos was handed down on 26 February 2026. Dilian's statements were reported by MEGA Stories and carried by OCCRP and National Herald. Koutsios's testimony was reported by in.gr. Triantafyllou's testimony was given during the 27th session of the trial. Androulakis's quotes are from statements carried by the National Herald and Athens Times. The list of named targets was published by IBNAEU on 22 March 2026, based on Androulakis's open letter. The Parapolitika report on new investigations was published on 20 March 2026. The Data Protection Authority findings were reported by To Vima on 9 March 2026. Classified spending data was reviewed by Dikastiko Reportaz based on Finance Ministry records. The EYP file destruction was reported by multiple Greek media outlets. The SLAPP designation was made by IPI, RSF, and HRW. Spiros Sideris's comments were provided exclusively to Bosphorus News on 22 March 2026.