The creator of the spyware company Intellexa has announced intentions to contest a conviction issued by a Greek court related to accusations that he and three other executives unlawfully acquired personal information during a large-scale wiretapping operation in the nation.

The surveillance controversy, often dubbed “Greek Watergate,” involved the infiltration of numerous devices owned by high-ranking Greek government officials, opposition leaders, military personnel, and reporters through the use of Intellexa’s Predator spyware. This software can access both iPhones and Android smartphones to extract call history, text conversations, emails, and location details, typically by deceiving a target into clicking a harmful link.

Numerous high-ranking officials within the Greek government, including the director of Greece’s national intelligence agency and a key advisor to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, stepped down following disclosures that several journalists’ phones had been monitored. Thus far, no government officials have faced conviction regarding the surveillance, and dissenters have alleged that the Mitsotakis administration is engaging in a cover-up.

The founder of Intellexa, Tal Dilian, received a conviction in February and was sentenced to eight years behind bars. In a statement initially reported by Reuters on Wednesday, he expressed that he would not serve as a “scapegoat.”

Regardless of whether Dilian is, as he asserts, a scapegoat, the comment stands as the clearest indication yet from anyone associated with Intellexa that the Mitsotakis administration sanctioned the hacks.

“I contend that a conviction without proof is not ⁠justice; it may be part of a cover-up and potentially a criminal act,” Dilian articulated to Reuters. He mentioned his readiness to provide evidence to both national and international regulatory bodies.

Dilian did not reply to TechCrunch’s inquiry about his comments. The Greek embassy in Washington, D.C. has yet to respond when reached for comment by TechCrunch.

Dilian also informed Reuters that surveillance tools like Predator are generally sold strictly to governments, which bear responsibility for their lawful deployment.

In 2024, the U.S. government placed sanctions on Dilian after it was discovered that Predator was used against the phones of U.S. officials and journalists. These sanctions effectively prohibit any business dealings with Dilian and his other sanctioned commercial partners.