The Makers of Predator Spyware Just Got Sentenced to Prison—Here's Why It Matters

A Greek court has delivered a verdict that the surveillance industry has spent years trying to prevent. On February 26, 2026, an Athens misdemeanor court sentenced four executives of spyware maker Intellexa to eight years in prison for illegally wiretapping more than 90 politicians, journalists, and government officials using the company's Predator surveillance software.

It is the first time in history that executives behind a commercial spyware company have been criminally convicted for the way their technology was used against civilians.

Who Was Convicted

The Athens court found all four defendants guilty of unlawfully accessing information systems, violating communications privacy, and interfering with personal data systems through spyware deployment:

• Tal Dilian, the Israeli founder of Intellexa who built the company into one of Europe's most prominent spyware vendors
• Sara Hamou, a corporate offshoring specialist who helped structure Intellexa's network of shell companies across multiple jurisdictions
• Felix Bitzios, a former deputy administrator involved in the company's operations
• Yiannis Lavranos, whose company Krikel reportedly purchased and deployed the Predator spyware

Each received sentences totaling 126 years, but under Greek law, the maximum enforceable sentence for misdemeanor convictions is eight years. The sentences were suspended pending appeal, and the court also referred the case to prosecutors for potential felony investigation, including espionage charges.

The Predatorgate Scandal

The convictions stem from one of Europe's most damaging surveillance scandals. In March 2022, journalist Thanasis Koukakis discovered that his phone had been infected with Predator spyware and that he had been simultaneously wiretapped by Greece's National Intelligence Service (EYP). Months later, opposition leader Nikos Androulakis revealed an attempted hack of his own device.

The resulting investigation by Greece's independent telecommunications authority ADAE found that Predator had been used against more than 90 individuals between 2020 and 2021. The targets included financial journalists, opposition politicians, sitting government ministers, intelligence operatives, and even prosecutors.

The scandal forced the resignations of the head of Greek intelligence, Panagiotis Kontoleon, and the General Secretary of the Prime Minister, Grigoris Dimitriadis, who was also Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis's nephew. Mitsotakis had personally placed EYP under his direct control after winning the 2019 election.

A Global Surveillance Operation

Greece was not the only country where Predator was deployed. Research by Amnesty International and the Citizen Lab has documented Predator's use in at least 25 countries including Egypt, Pakistan, Angola, Jordan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the United Arab Emirates.

The spyware targeted individuals far beyond Greece's borders. According to researchers, Predator's victims have included the president of the European Parliament, the president of Taiwan, and United States senators. In February 2026, just days before the Greek verdict, Amnesty International confirmed that Predator had been used to hack the iPhone of a prominent journalist in Angola.

The United States government imposed sanctions on Intellexa and its subsidiaries in 2023 and 2024, adding the company to the Commerce Department's Entity List and later imposing Treasury Department sanctions.

Why This Verdict Matters

This conviction breaks new ground in several ways. No commercial spyware maker had ever faced criminal consequences for the deployment of its technology. The industry has long operated in a gray zone, selling powerful surveillance tools to governments and claiming no responsibility for how clients use them.

The Greek court rejected that defense. By convicting the executives who built and sold Predator, the ruling establishes that spyware vendors can be held criminally liable for the surveillance campaigns their products enable.

The practical consequences extend beyond prison time. Convicted executives now face extradition risks when traveling internationally, restrictions on banking and financial transactions, and substantial barriers to future business operations in the surveillance industry.

The Unfinished Story

Human Rights Watch called the verdict "bittersweet." While the court held Intellexa executives accountable, those who actually ordered the surveillance remain unprosecuted. Greek Supreme Court prosecutors cleared government officials of involvement in 2024, despite documented evidence of their role.

"The Greek judiciary needs to hold state officials accountable for ordering its use," HRW researchers emphasized. Amnesty International echoed that position, stating that full accountability requires investigating who purchased and deployed the spyware within Greek state institutions.

The court's decision to refer the case for potential felony prosecution offers a narrow path forward. But for now, the people who pointed Predator at journalists' phones have escaped consequences, while the people who built the weapon face prison.

A Warning to the Surveillance Industry

The Intellexa verdict sends a clear signal to the global surveillance industry: building tools that enable mass wiretapping can lead to criminal prosecution. Combined with U.S. sanctions and growing international pressure, the economics of the commercial spyware business are shifting.

For the journalists and politicians who discovered they had been watched, the conviction offers a measure of accountability that many surveillance victims around the world have never received. Whether it leads to deeper investigations or remains an isolated moment of justice may depend on whether European courts are willing to follow where the evidence leads.