Predatorgate Victims Sue Spyware Maker Intellexa for €8 Million

Eight victims of Greece’s spyware scandal, dubbed “Predatorgate,” have initiated legal action against Intellexa SA, the company behind the sophisticated Predator spyware used to surveil them. The lawsuit, filed by lawyer Zacharias Kesses, seeks €1 million in moral damages for each plaintiff, whose devices were compromised between 2020 and 2021. Among the claimants is prominent journalist Thanasis Koukakis, alongside lawyers, intelligence officials, and law enforcement personnel who were targeted.

The legal action names Intellexa SA and thirteen associated individuals, including its founder Tal Dilian. According to Kesses, the lawsuits meticulously detail the corporate structure, operational methods, and role divisions within the network of companies and individuals responsible for Predator's development, distribution, and deployment. This move is framed as a crucial step towards achieving accountability for all parties involved and securing redress for the victims at both national and European levels.

Intellexa SA, based in Athens, operates as the core entity within a larger consortium of holding companies and vendors registered across various jurisdictions. This consortium is credited with developing Predator, recognized as one of the most capable spyware tools available. In 2024, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Athens-based Intellexa SA, along with Irish entities Intellexa Limited and Thalestris Limited, North Macedonia-based Cytrox AD, and Hungary-based Cytrox Holdings, citing their involvement in supporting Predator spyware operations.

Key figures, including consortium founder Tal Dilian and his ex-wife Sara Hamou, a specialist in corporate offshoring for the consortium, were also placed on the sanctions list. Dilian, Hamou, along with Felix Bitzios and Yiannis Lavranos (a former Intellexa executive and owner of Predator vendor Krikel, respectively), were previously found guilty by an Athens misdemeanors court of violating telephone confidentiality and illegally accessing personal data. They received sentences totaling 126 years and eight months, pending appeals, though Greek law would cap their actual prison time at eight years.

Despite numerous accusations, Greek government officials have consistently denied any involvement, or that their intelligence services were behind the attacks targeting Greek citizens in 2020-2021. An investigation into the Predatorgate scandal revealed that at least 87 high-profile Greek individuals were targeted. The attacks were carried out using hundreds of SMS messages containing malicious links that exploited zero-day vulnerabilities in Chrome and Android.

Civil liberties organizations, including Amnesty International, continue to scrutinize the potential involvement of the Greek state in procuring Predator for these attacks, despite official denials. A 2024 probe by the Supreme Court prosecutor's office concluded that no evidence linked the Greek government or its intelligence services to the scandal, which first surfaced in 2022.

The Predatorgate scandal in Greece emerged concurrently with similar spyware incidents in other EU member states, such as Spain, Hungary, and Poland. In response to the perceived lack of decisive action across these separate cases, campaigners have jointly issued an open letter urging the European Union to conduct thorough investigations and attribute responsibility for the illegal spyware attacks occurring within its member states.