An email uncovered by an investigative journalist in Cyprus is shedding new light on the political connections of Tal Dilian, the Israeli businessman linked to the Predator spyware scandal that engulfed Greece and raised concerns across Europe about the use of commercial surveillance technology.
According to documents cited in a new book, Dilian sought the assistance of senior figures in Cyprus's ruling party years before the Greek government became embroiled in controversy over Predator, the sophisticated spyware capable of infecting mobile phones and extracting messages, contacts and other sensitive data.
The evidence, presented in the book Cyprus: The Hub of Surveillance by Cypriot journalist Fanis Makridis, includes a 2019 email sent by Dilian to the office of Averof Neophytou, then leader of the center-right Democratic Rally (DISY), which governed Cyprus under President Nicos Anastasiades.
ΔΙΑΒΑΣΤΕ ΕΠΙΣΗΣ
In the message, Dilian reportedly asked Neophytou to use his influence to facilitate the export of surveillance software to the Dutch intelligence services.
The findings add to mounting questions about the political networks that supported the expansion of the commercial spyware industry in the eastern Mediterranean and its links to both Cyprus and Greece.
Makridis's investigation argues that Cyprus played a central role in the ownership and operations of the company that marketed Predator before the spyware surfaced in Greece. The book also documents what the author describes as years of official tolerance and support for companies and individuals associated with Dilian and the surveillance business.
The journalist, who has investigated the spyware industry since 2016, traces the activities of several of Dilian's associates in Cyprus, many of whom later appeared in connection with the Greek surveillance scandal. Greece's Predator affair erupted after evidence emerged that financial journalist Thanasis Koukakis had been targeted with the spyware, triggering a political crisis and prompting investigations by European institutions.
The book also explores a separate episode involving an undercover U.S. intelligence operation that sought to acquire Pegasus, another powerful spyware tool developed by Israel's NSO Group. According to the investigation, a member of the Anastasiades government was connected to a corporate vehicle that assisted the operation, a company that had accumulated profits exceeding €400 million in Cyprus.
Among the investigation's other findings are allegations that relatives of officials from Cyprus's intelligence service worked for foreign surveillance companies operating on the island; that criminal files involving an Israeli businessman in the sector were quietly shelved; and that senior political figures and even the Foreign Ministry intervened on behalf of surveillance entrepreneurs.
The book also examines Neophytou's explanation for the email exchange with Dilian, raises questions about potential conflicts of interest involving individuals connected to the Attorney General's office, and includes testimony alleging the existence of covert surveillance equipment housed in political party premises.
