Fresh allegations linking Greece's intelligence service to the controversial Predator spyware have reignited one of the country's biggest political scandals, after a newspaper report claimed that Israeli businessman Tal Dilian possesses documents and correspondence connecting the surveillance software to state authorities.
According to a report published Sunday by Greek newspaper To Vima, Dilian — the founder of Intellexa, the company behind Predator — is in possession of a 2020 cooperation agreement concerning the use of the spyware by Greece's National Intelligence Service (EYP).
The report says Dilian's representatives claim the document bears signatures from both sides and includes provisions governing the lawful operation of the surveillance system.
However, To Vima notes that the agreement never became a formal contract because Greek law did not — and still does not — provide a legal framework for the official procurement and operation of spyware capable of extracting data from mobile devices.
The allegations come as Greece continues to grapple with the fallout from the Predator scandal, which erupted in 2022 after reports that journalists, politicians and other public figures had been targeted with the military-grade spyware. The affair triggered domestic political turmoil, drew scrutiny from European institutions and ultimately led to the resignation of several senior officials.
Beyond the alleged agreement, the newspaper reports that Dilian's side is also citing dozens of emails exchanged between Intellexa executives and Greek government officials, primarily members of the intelligence service. According to the report, the correspondence concerns technical issues, system management procedures and day-to-day interventions or corrections involving the Predator platform.
The emails are considered particularly significant because they could help identify officials who had operational involvement with the spyware's deployment, the newspaper said.
The material could be made public in the coming weeks.
The reported documents align with Dilian's long-standing position that Intellexa sells its products exclusively to governments and state security agencies. His representatives maintain that he had no knowledge of the individuals targeted through Predator and that his role was limited to providing technology and technical support rather than participating in surveillance operations.
The revelations immediately triggered political reactions across Greece's opposition parties.
Center-left PASOK called for Dilian and former senior government official Grigoris Dimitriadis to appear before Parliament's Committee on Institutions and Transparency, arguing that the alleged agreement warrants renewed scrutiny from both lawmakers and judicial authorities.
Left-wing opposition party SYRIZA went further, claiming that Dilian appears to possess information that investigators have yet to obtain. The party questioned why Greek judicial authorities have not secured access to the material and renewed criticism of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who placed the intelligence service under his direct supervision shortly after taking office in 2019.
Another opposition party, the Greek Left Alliance, described the latest allegations as evidence that Predator was operated by state authorities rather than private actors. The party accused the government of attempting to cover up responsibility for the affair and called for a full reopening of the investigation.
The Greek government has repeatedly denied operating Predator or conducting illegal surveillance through the spyware. Previous investigations have produced conflicting conclusions, while critics have accused authorities of failing to fully investigate the extent of state involvement.
If the documents and emails described by To Vima were to emerge publicly, they could become some of the most consequential evidence yet in a scandal that has continued to shadow Greek politics and raise broader concerns in Brussels about surveillance, accountability and the rule of law within the European Union.
