Greek Gate

Costas Tsalikidis’s family have said that he spoke of work-related pressures prior to his death

Just a few months before the 2004 Olympic Games began in Athens, the worst espionage scandal in Greece’s history was uncovered.

Vodafone, Greece’s largest telecommunications provider, discovered wire tap software in its cell phone system, allowing thousands of illegal interceptions to be made.

What made the incident even more extraordinary were the kind of people whose phones were tapped. They included the Greek PM, Costas Karamanlis, a member of the opposition party, former prime ministers, journalists and businessmen.

The event took a tragic and suspicious turn when Vodaphone’s leading engineer was found hanging from a pipe in his bathroom a day after the discovery of the devices.

Vodafone has fiercely denied a link between his death and the wire taps – but his lawyer and family say that all the signs point to murder.

Elizabeth Filippouli reports on the murky facts behind the case.

This episode of People & Power aired from July 25 to 01 August 2007.

Watch this episode of People & Power here:

Part One:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhWJMvWPqmU

Part Two:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy_9Abq9nW4

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