Cyprus police have arrested three employees of a high-tech surveillance equipment company owned by an Israeli former intelligence officer amid a probe of the firm’s business activities.
Police said the two men and one woman, ages 30, 35 and 41, were under investigation for suspected breaches of private communication and personal data laws.
An alleged ‘spy van’ owned by an Israeli ex-intelligence officer, as featured in a video by Forbes on September 4, 2019 (screenshot: YouTube)
They face 13 possible charges, including conspiracy to commit a criminal act and obtaining registration under false pretenses, Cyprus police say.
All three are due to appear in court on Friday for a custody hearing.
Police launched a probe of the company, Cyprus-registered WiSpear, following reports that alleged a van supposedly crammed with sophisticated surveillance technology was used to spy on people on the east Mediterranean island nation.
WiSpear has denied any wrongdoing, saying it neither sold nor rented “intelligence systems” to Cypriot authorities and doesn’t provide “intelligence services” for clients.
WiSpear was incorporated in 2013 and began operating four years later. It is run by Tal Dillian, an Israeli who an earlier Forbes video showed boasting about the vehicle’s surveillance capabilities.
— AP
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