Tal Dilian has stated in an official court document that he sold the Predator spyware to the Greek government, a claim made as part of a lawsuit he filed against one of the victims of illegal surveillance in Greece.
Dilian, who became widely known through the so-called “black van” case, used Cyprus as a base before expanding his activities to Greece. In the court filing, he states that he “sold Predator to the state authorities in Greece, which in itself is absolutely legal.”
The development, which occurred in Greece in the past 24 hours, is considered compatible with a Cyprus investigation that has been ongoing since last March, concerning surveillance-industry businessmen and their relations with Cypriot state officials.
The significance of Dilian’s statement lies in what it reveals about his relationship with the Greek state, according to Zacharias Kesses, the lawyer representing eight confirmed surveillance victims who have filed a lawsuit against Dilian, based on a first-instance ruling in Greece on the wiretapping case.
Kesses said Dilian does not deny selling Predator in Greece, but denies any involvement in the use of the software for illegal surveillance.
Dilian’s written admission in the court filing is also directly relevant to an investigation being carried out by Cyprus’s Anti-Corruption Authority. As previously reported, Transparency Commissioner and Authority head Haris Poyiadjis said last March, responding to a parliamentary question from Irene Charalambides, that the surveillance case was under investigation.
Sources who spoke to Phileleftheros said the Anti-Corruption Authority is currently in the preparatory stage of its investigation, gathering evidence with a view to appointing inspection officers and setting the terms of their mandate.
A source told the newspaper that the Authority is gathering evidence on figures in the Cyprus surveillance scandal, who are “the same protagonists” as those in the Greek case.
The Anti-Corruption Authority is tasked with investigating possible acts of corruption and incompatibility involving officials.
The relations between the Cypriot state and state or political officials with businessmen such as Dilian and Avni, who are linked to the Intellexa group and the Predator software, are under scrutiny, meaning related developments in Greece are viewed in the same context.
Irene Charalambides commented on the implications for Cyprus in a post yesterday on the platform X, describing Dilian’s reference to his dealings with the Greek government as an “extremely important development,” which she called revelatory.
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