Eight people whose mobile phones were infected with the Predator spyware have filed a civil lawsuit against Athens-based surveillance company Intellexa SA and 13 individuals allegedly linked to the firm, seeking €1 million each in compensation for moral damages.
The lawsuit is the latest development in Greece’s high-profile wiretapping scandal, widely known as “Predatorgate”, which came to light in 2022 after a financial journalist and the leader of a centre-left political party disclosed that they had been targeted with Predator, Intellexa’s flagship surveillance software.
The revelations triggered a major political crisis, leading to the resignation of the head of Greece’s EYP intelligence service and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff. Investigations later uncovered traces of the Predator spyware on dozens of mobile phones.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ centre-right government has consistently denied any political involvement in the surveillance operation. While describing the monitoring of an opposition politician’s phone as an error, the government maintained that it had no prior knowledge of the incident. It also survived a parliamentary vote of no confidence over the affair in 2023.
Earlier this year, a Greek court convicted Intellexa’s Israeli founder, Tal Dilian, along with three others, of violating personal data confidentiality between 2020 and 2021. The defendants received combined prison sentences of 126 years and eight months, although the time to be served was capped at eight years pending an appeal.
Dilian has rejected the ruling, describing the conviction as unjustified and insisting he would not serve as a scapegoat. He has maintained that the Predator spyware was sold exclusively to governments, which were responsible for its deployment. His appeal is scheduled to be heard in December.
According to lawyer Zacharias Kesses, the eight plaintiffs are seeking €1 million each in compensation for what they describe as the unlawful violation of their privacy, the confidentiality of their communications and the misuse of their personal data.
He added that additional lawsuits are expected to be filed. The civil case is scheduled to be heard in April.
