Greece spyware scandal: Predator case shut down again

Greece's Predator spyware scandal reignites as prosecutor blocks new probe

When Prosecutors Make Headlines in Greece, It Rarely Bodes Well

This time is no exception. Since Monday, Konstantinos Tzavellas—a gaunt figure with thinning hair, round glasses, and a graying beard—has faced fierce criticism across Greece. Only the conservative government in Athens, led by long-serving Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has come to his defense.

What Happened? Tzavellas, a prosecutor at Greece's Supreme Court, ruled on Monday that the contentious case files tied to the wiretapping scandal during Mitsotakis's first term would not be reopened. The documents, he declared, would remain buried in the archives of the Areopagus—Greece's highest court—where his predecessor had controversially consigned them in July 2024. According to Tzavellas, there was "no basis whatsoever" to revisit the matter.

Yet just weeks earlier, on February 26, an Athens criminal court had handed down landmark verdicts in the same scandal, sentencing four defendants to 126 years and eight months in prison each. The court found them guilty of illegally accessing the private communications and data of 87 victims, including politicians, business leaders, high-ranking military officers (among them the then-chief of Greece's general staff), and journalists. The judges also called for further investigation into potential espionage.

The victims had been targeted between 2020 and 2021 using Predator, a spyware tool developed by the Israeli firm Intellexa. The case has since been dubbed Greece's "Watergate."

Mitsotakis has long dismissed allegations that he orchestrated the surveillance, despite having placed the national intelligence service (EYP) under his direct control in July 2019—one of his first acts in office. Still, the scandal claimed two high-profile resignations: EYP chief Panagiotis Kontoleon stepped down in August 2022, as did Mitsotakis's nephew, Grigoris Dimitriadis, who had served as his chief of staff.

A Scandal That Won't Fade The fallout shows no signs of abating. Tal Dilian, the convicted founder of Intellexa and a former Israeli military officer, recently stated that his company supplies technology "exclusively to governments and law enforcement agencies." Once delivered, he claimed, "we have no operational control." Then, in a thinly veiled jab at Mitsotakis, he added: "Richard Nixon lost the presidency because he tried to cover up Watergate."

For Tzavellas, however, the matter is settled: No government official—not even the prime minister—has any connection to Greece's Watergate. Only Dilian and his associates, he insists, should face trial.

Justice in Crisis Public trust in the judiciary has plummeted. A March 2025 poll by Athens-based research firm Public Issue revealed a staggering 74% of Greeks now say they have "no confidence" in their justice system—a dramatic shift from 2018, when 53% expressed trust (and just 33% did not) before Mitsotakis took office.

Political Backlash Tzavellas's decision has sent shockwaves through Greek politics. Nikos Androulakis, leader of the opposition social democratic Pasok party—and himself a surveillance victim while serving as an MEP—condemned what he called the "erosion of the rule of law and separation of powers" under Mitsotakis. At a press conference, he accused the Areopagus prosecutors of "failing even their most basic duty by refusing to investigate." Androulakis vowed to push for a parliamentary inquiry.

His criticism was echoed by Sokrates Famellos, leader of the left-wing Syriza party; former Prime Minister and Syriza chief Alexis Tsipras; the New Left faction; and the Communist Party. The scandal, it seems, is far from over.

In an interview with our website, Androulakis stated: "I know all too well that Mr. Mitsotakis will stop at nothing to cling to power. Precisely because I know this, I will do everything in my power to ensure he loses it—so that Greece can once again become a normal European country."