"This process constitutes the next institutional step towards full accountability of all those involved and redress for victims, both at national and European levels," Zacharias Kesses told Kathimerini.
The €8 million claim: who is suing, and why
Eight individuals who were targeted in Greece's Predator spyware scandal have filed lawsuits seeking a combined €8 million in moral damages. According to their lawyer, Zacharias Kesses, each plaintiff is demanding €1 million after having their devices hacked between 2020 and 2021. The group includes the journalist Thanasis Koukakis — one of the most high-profile victims when the case surfaced — as well as lawyers, intelligence officials, law enforcement workers and others.
Kesses told Greek newspaper Kathimerini that the suits "detail the structure, operation and division of roles of the network of companies and individuals associated with the development, distribution and use of Predator." He framed the litigation as a deliberate step toward legal and institutional accountability at both national and European levels.
Defendants named: Intellexa SA and 13 individuals
The lawsuits are directed at Athens-based Intellexa SA and 13 individuals associated with the consortium that developed and sold the Predator spyware, including founder Tal Dilian, according to Kesses. The reporting describes Intellexa both as an Athens corporate entity and as the name commonly used for a wider consortium of holding companies and vendors registered across multiple jurisdictions.
The source material states plainly that the consortium developed Predator, describing it as "one of the most capable offerings of its kind." Kesses’ filing aims to trace roles within that network as part of legal redress for the victims.
Sanctions, convictions and sentences
Several companies tied to the Predator consortium were placed on the US Treasury's sanctions list in 2024. Those listed include Athens-based Intellexa SA; Irish companies Intellexa Limited and Thalestris Limited; North Macedonia-based Cytrox AD; and Hungary-based Cytrox Holdings. Key individuals — founder Tal Dilian and his ex-wife Sara Hamou, described as a corporate offshoring specialist who worked for the consortium — were added to the same US sanctions listing at that time.
Separately, the source states that Dilian, Hamou and two Greeks, Felix Bitzios and Yiannis Lavranos (the latter described as a former Intellexa boss and owner of Krikel, a Predator vendor), were found guilty earlier this year of violating telephone communications confidentiality and illegally accessing personal data. An Athens misdemeanors court sentenced each to 126 years and eight months in prison, pending appeals; domestic law would cap any sentence at eight years.
Scale of the targeting: SMS lures and zero‑day exploits
The Predatorgate probe identified a campaign that targeted at least 87 high-profile Greeks. The attacks were carried out using hundreds of SMS messages containing malicious links that exploited Chrome and Android zero‑day vulnerabilities, according to the record summarized in the source material. The scandal first came to public attention in 2022 and has generated continuing scrutiny and civil-society pressure since.
Civil liberties organisations, specifically Amnesty International as mentioned in the reporting, have pressed questions about whether the state procured or used Predator despite repeated denials from government officials. A 2024 Supreme Court prosecutor's probe, the source notes, found no evidence that the Greek government or its intelligence services were involved in the scandal.
What this means for journalists, civil liberties groups, and the EU
- Journalists: For reporters and editors, the lawsuit reinforces long-standing concerns about digital safety and targeted surveillance after the Koukakis disclosure; legal vindication could translate into recognized compensation and a public record of how the spyware was used against press figures.
- Civil liberties groups: Organisations such as Amnesty International — already questioning possible state involvement — now have a judicial pathway to pursue redress and to press for fuller corporate and cross‑border attribution, as the suits purport to expose consortium structures and roles.
- The European Union: Campaigners have co-signed an open letter calling on the EU to properly investigate and attribute the illegal spyware attacks that have occurred across member states; Kesses framed the suits as an institutional step toward accountability "at national and European levels," signalling litigation as one route to push broader investigative action.
The litigation now underway folds criminal convictions, international sanctions and a roster of victims into a civil effort to pin responsibility — and to seek damages — from the companies and individuals tied to Predator. With appeals pending in the criminal cases and campaigners urging EU‑level probes, the lawsuits mark a concrete escalation in the long-running fallout from a campaign that exploited Chrome and Android zero‑day flaws to target dozens of high-profile Greeks.
Source: The Register — "Predatorgate snoopfest victims launch €8M sueball at spyware maker"
