Eight people in Greece whose phones were found to have Predator spyware have filed a civil lawsuit against Intellexa and 13 people connected to the surveillance company, their lawyer told Greek outlet Ekathimerini.
The plaintiffs are seeking about €7.6 million, or $8.7 million, in compensation. Lawyer Zacharias Kesses said the claim covers “the moral damage suffered by the victims from the illegal violation of their privacy, the confidentiality of their communications and their personal data” after spyware was confirmed on their devices.
The case matters because it pushes Greece’s Predator affair from criminal punishment toward victim compensation. Predator did not appear on phones by magic. Intellexa developed and sold the spyware, and the lawsuit now asks a civil court to examine the people and companies allegedly involved in getting it built, distributed and used.
The plaintiffs include financial journalist Thanassis Koukakis, journalist Spyridon Sideris, a former Meta security manager, two lawyers, a former director of the Hellenic Police’s Forensic Laboratories, a former head of a Greek intelligence agency, and a former intelligence and law enforcement official.
Kesses told Ekathimerini that the lawsuits describe the “structure, operation and division of roles” among companies and individuals tied to Predator’s development, distribution and use. He called the case the next formal step toward accountability and compensation in Greece and at the European level.
A trial is scheduled to begin in April 2027. Kesses did not respond to a request for comment.
The criminal case is already on appeal
Predator’s use in Greece became public in 2022, after traces of the spyware were identified on dozens of phones. The fallout reached the top of the Greek state: the head of Greece’s intelligence service resigned, as did the prime minister’s chief of staff.
In February, a Greek court sentenced Intellexa founder Tal Dilian and three associates to prison over their roles in the affair. Their sentences totaled more than 126 years, but under Greek law they are expected to serve eight years. They remain free while the appeals process continues.
Dilian has blamed the Greek government. In March, he told the local outlet Inside Story that Intellexa sold Predator only to government customers, and in this case to the Greek government and its national intelligence agency.
He accused the government and intelligence agency of carrying out a “conspiratorial criminal act” to conceal their own misconduct. Dilian’s position is that Intellexa provided the tool to government clients and did not choose who would be targeted.
That claim is now part of the broader fight over responsibility. The new civil lawsuit, as described by Kesses, is aimed at the company and people around Predator’s commercial and operational chain, rather than treating the infected phones as an abstract policy failure.
This story draws on original reporting from The Record.
