Greek Police Raid Offices of “Israeli” Spyware Seller

By Staff, Agencies 

Greek police raided the Athens offices of the company that sells “Israeli”-made Predator spyware in the country which was used in widespread surveillance operations by Greece’s intelligence services. 

The offices of “Intellexa” and “Krikel”, an information and communications technology and electronic security systems provider, were among six companies raided by police in the capital, said the Kathimerini daily.

The daily further underscored that “The prosecutors who ordered the raids were acting on evidence and documents that emerged in recent days, including in reports in Sunday’s Documento newspaper, which recently published documents showing that dozens of acting ministers, senior generals, businessmen and journalists were under surveillance.”

“It is also understood that prosecutors have submitted official requests for documents from the National Intelligence Service [EYP] to confirm media reports that major public figures such as Chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff Konstantinos Floros were under surveillance,” it said.

On Aug. 8, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis acknowledged that opposition politician Nikos Androulakis was wiretapped by Greece’s intelligence agency but denied knowledge of the operation.

The scandal first emerged on Aug. 4 when Panagiotis Kontoleon, then-head of the National Intelligence Service [EYP], told a parliamentary committee that the intelligence agency had been spying on financial journalist Thanasis Koukakis.

On Aug. 5, Kontoleon, along with the general secretary of the prime minister’s office, Grigoris Dimitriadis, resigned.

A parliamentary probe was launched after Androulakis complained to top prosecutors about an attempt to hack his cellphone with Predator spyware.

The European Commission and European Parliament are closely monitoring developments related to the scandal.