Greek police raid offices of Israeli spyware seller

Greek police raided the Athens offices of the company that sells Israeli-made Predator spyware in the country which was allegedly used in widespread surveillance operations by Greece’s intelligence services, local media reported Tuesday. 

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 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, according to the daily.

“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.

Surveillance scandal

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.

Previously, Documento on Nov. 6 published a list of 33 people allegedly spied on by the EYP on the direct orders of Dimitriadis, including Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, Deputy Defense Minister Nikolaos Chardalias, Development Minister Adonis Georgiadis, Labor Minister Kostis Hatzidakis, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras, former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, former Public Order Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis and former National Security Adviser Alexandros Diakopoulos.

The same daily alleged on Dec. 3 that the EYP, which directly operates under Mitsotakis, also wiretapped Chief of General Staff Konstantinos Floros, Chief of Land Forces Charalambos Lalousis and General Director of Defense Investments and Armaments Thodoris Lagios.

Opposition parties have been blaming Mitsotakis for the scandal and have called for his government to hold snap elections, something he rejects.

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