Overview
- The Office of Foreign Assets Control removed Sara Hamou, Andrea Gambazzi, and Merom Harpaz from the U.S. sanctions list on December 30 under the Trump administration.
- Treasury described the action as part of a normal reconsideration process initiated by a petition and said each person showed measures separating from Intellexa.
- Tal Dilian, the Intellexa founder previously described by Treasury as leading a decentralized spyware network, remains sanctioned.
- Civil-society and research voices criticized the reversal, with Access Now warning it could signal leniency and a Citizen Lab researcher calling the decision puzzling.
- Background investigations have linked Predator to surveillance abuses in Greece and attempts against U.S. lawmakers, and recent reports from Amnesty International and Recorded Future describe continued Predator activity.