With the help of the Munich spying software "FinSpy", the Turkish secret service had been shadowing opposition members for years. © Sebastian Gollnow / dpa
The Turkish secret service MIT has been shadowing Turkish opposition members for years with the help of spying software. The explosive thing is that the program comes from a Munich-based company – and the sale to Turkey was illegal.
Munich - The Munich public prosecutor's office has indicted four managers of the insolvent spyware manufacturer FinFisher for illegal exports. They are said to have sold the Trojan "FinSpy" to the Turkish secret service MIT by deliberately circumventing EU export controls. This was announced by the investigating authority on Monday. Now the Munich I Regional Court must decide on the admission of the indictment.
FinFisher can no longer be reached for comment as the company is insolvent and has ceased operations. One of the customers was once the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), which had not used the software.
Spy software: Illegal sale to Turkish secret service brought five million euros
According to the indictment, the group generated the majority of its sales in countries outside the EU, for which export licenses have been required since January 2015. According to the prosecutor's office, FinFisher then handled these transactions through a shell company in Bulgaria.
The price for the illegal sale to the Turkish secret service is said to have been five million euros. "FinSpy" was therefore the main product of the group of companies. According to the public prosecutor's office, the software allowed complete control over the spied on mobile phones and PCs.
Spying on members of the opposition: Turkish secret service used "FinFisher" software
The Turkish secret service is said to have used the software to spy on members of the opposition. The investigation was initiated in 2019 by four non-governmental organizations: the Society for Civil Liberties, Reporters Without Borders, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and Netzpolitik.org. They provided a technical analysis that "FinSpy" was installed for download on a fake website of the Turkish opposition movement in 2017.
A veritable political thriller is currently taking place in Turkey: the elections in Turkey are more exciting than they have been for a long time, and President Erdogan is threatened with losing power. Now a run-off election must decide. (dpa, lf)
