Predator probe focuses on suspicious SMS from US

Two Greek prosecutors investigating all allegations of illegal electronic surveillance of dozens of individuals in Greece have submitted a request to US authorities for judicial assistance.

The request came after the prosecutors discovered that the SMS sent to trap the phones of opposition socialist leader Nikos Androulakis and financial journalist Thanasis Koukakis appeared to have originated from the US. The Greek investigators said the crimes they are probing are the violation of telecommunication privacy and of legislation on personal data.

Prosecutor Konstantinos Spyropoulos is exclusively investigating the targeting of Androulakis, while Angeliki Triantafyllou is investigating all the other cases, including that of Koukakis.

They have said that they are investigating two avenues: One concerns the Predator spyware and who used it. The second has to do with any involvement of politicians in the surveillance.

Meanwhile, the Electronic Crime is trying to make sense of what was seized from the raid carried out on the offices of companies and houses of executives involved in the operation and trading of Predator.