The investigation into the 2022 spyware scandal leaves victims in the dark about who in the government was responsible.
Greece’s 2022 spying scandal dubbed “Predatorgate” had it all: wiretapping of politicians, journalists and judges, exports of suspicious software to dictatorial regimes, and high-profile resignations.
Fast-forward two years and everyone in the government has been untangled.
In a 300-page report seen by POLITICO, Deputy Supreme Court Attorney Achilleas Zisis argued that a number of controversial breaches were coincidental with government surveillance businesses and that government agencies or officials cannot be held responsible for the spyware intrusions.
The petition was filed with the Supreme Court prosecutor, Georgia Adeilinis, who last Tuesday decided to charge the executives of the companies that produced and bought the illegal Predator software with misdemeanors and to drop the case.
The opposition was quick to attack the finding, questioning the country’s judicial independence and calling it a “day of shame” for Greece. An attempt to call for a new parliamentary inquiry was blocked by the government’s majority in Parliament last Friday.
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The scandal unfolded in August 2022 with the attempt to plant Predator on the phone of socialist leader Nikos Androulakis, a former member of the European Parliament, and was immediately followed by revelations that the government led by the conservative New Democracy party had monitored Androulakis’ phone with legitimate government tracking tools.
Investigative journalists, civil rights groups and the independent privacy watchdog ADAE soon revealed how the National Intelligence Service (NIS) had been subjecting an ever-expanding list of journalists and politicians – including half the government’s cabinet – to wiretapping and surveillance. . Predator spyware had been installed on the phones of some of them at exactly the same time.
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Achillea Zisi’s report confirmed reports that of the 116 cases identified as spyware targets, 28 phone numbers were under legitimate government surveillance at the time of the hacking attempt. But the Supreme Court estimated that this is a “coincidence and that the two monitoring methods have no relation to each other”.
The report identified Greece-based software developer Intellexa as linked to Predator and included evidence of its connection to Greek software provider Krikel, a supplier to the Greek government between 2018 and 2022.
The finding concluded that four businessmen – three with Intellexa and one with Krikel – should be prosecuted for “breaching the privacy of telephone communications” and “illegal access to an information system”.
Unanswered questions
Some lawyers attacked the finding, criticizing how the prosecutor left several clues untouched and did not adequately counsel the victims.
“The investigation was incomplete and superficial,” said Zacharias Kesses, a lawyer defending journalist Thanasis Koukakis, one of the victims of the spyware who was also under state surveillance.
Kesses argued that Zisis failed to investigate how the wiretapping of top ministers, political and military leaders were potentially serious crimes. “Privileged treatment and immunity was given to members of the spy agency and those responsible for its oversight,” he said.
The report considers that only the phones of Koukakis and former Meta employee Artemis Seaford were infected by the illegal Predator software, labeling all other cases as attempts. But the lawyers of the victims say that there are others who were infected, including former minister Christos Spirtzis.
Zisis also did not request the opening of the accounts of companies connected to Intellexa.
The government has repeatedly rejected claims that the scandal reaches back to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis himself, saying any wrongdoing was done by “dirty networks” within the secret services.
The scandal previously led to the resignation of Grigoris Dimitriadis, Mitsotakis’ chief of staff, who is also his nephew, and Panagiotis Kontoleon, who was head of the EYP. Both were subpoenaed by authorities to testify late last month, but not as suspects.
Dimitriadis was called in June to testify only as a witness and a search of his residence was never carried out, although it was initially requested by the judicial authorities.
Socialist leader Androulakis, whose file was allegedly destroyed by the state agency despite legal requirements that all files must be kept for two years, has appealed to the European Court of Human Rights against the government’s handling of his case.
The Predator was also exported to Sudan and Madagascar by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry later said it was conducting an internal investigation, but never announced the results or whether there were any sanctions.
The decision once again raises questions about the independence of the Greek judiciary.
In March, the United States government announced an unprecedented package of sanctions against Intellexa and its leadership after the company was involved in targeting US government officials. The announcement marks the first time the government has sanctioned a commercial spyware entity.
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“Eavesdropping through the state agency cannot be uncontrolled and unjustified,” said ADAE president Christos Rammos.
Zisi’s findings “disappointed all of us, ordinary citizens and lawyers, who want to believe in the integrity of the Greek justice system,” said Nikos Alivizatos, professor emeritus of constitutional law at the University of Athens.
Source: Politico – Greece leaves spy services unchecked on Predator hacks
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