The Novartis case had shaken the Greek political system precisely 2 years ago. At that time, 10 political executives were named, in the framework of a broader investigation, as recipients of bribery by the pharmaceutical giant, in order to facilitate its conduct in the Greek drug market. Among others, the former Prime Ministers Antonis Samaras (ND, EPP) and Panagiotis Pikrammenos (Interim), the ex-Commissioner for Migration and Security Dimitris Avramopoulos and the Governor of the Bank of Greece, Yannis Stournaras, were included in the group of politicians being investigated.
Decisive for the initial investigation into the politicians were the testimonies of three whistle-blowers. These witnesses claimed to be in key positions, in order to be aware of the briberies by the then Novartis boss in Athens, Konstantinos Frouzis. These witnesses were questioned numerous times, before the case made it to the headlines and they were said to be trustworthy, at least according to the Greek Attorney General against Corruption. However, over the months that followed, nothing was proven for the majority of the politicians.
The whistle-blowers were claiming to be aware or to have become aware of briberies, also indicating concrete ways. Their claims were not verified. 7 of the investigated politicians, so far, have been acquitted, among others Samaras, Pikrammenos and Stournaras. Minister of Development and Investments Adonis Georgiadis, Avramopoulos and the ex-Commissioner Avramopoulos are still under scrutiny, with prosecution not realistically in sight, since nothing has been found to suggest that they are guilty. And, as of now, one of the three whistle-blowers has come to light, while the names of the other two have been circulating political Athens for months, without official confirmation.
A plot
After the victory of ND, last July, everything changed. Taking into consideration the acquitting of the majority of the accused politicians, the parliamentary majority moved to investigate the handling of the former Alternate Minister of Justice, Dimitris Papaggelopoulos, who has been described by many Justice officials as a man plotting against political opponents of the then SYRIZA-led government. Papaggelopoulos, a seemingly dark figure and a retired Attorney General himself, had close ties with many justice officials. In political circles in Athens, the talk was about a “Papaggelopoulos circle”, which included high ranking judges and other justice functionaries. He was also accused of manipulating, through his confidants in the justice circles, the testimonies of the whistle-blowers.
To finalise the picture, Papaggelopoulos was the one to describe Novartis as the largest political scandal in Greece since the revolution of 1821, on the evening that the sole existence of a case file against certain political operatives was revealed. As a member of the Executive, he should have no prior knowledge of the case, before it was sent to the Parliament by the Greek justice.
Uncovering the whistle-blowers
Politicians that were accused of accepting bribes by Novartis have, ever since, turned against the whistle-blowers, among others. Now, the Special Parliamentary Committee set up to investigate the handling of Dimitris Papaggelopoulos wants to uncover the whistle-blowers and cross-check their testimonies, in light of recent developments, but also of the fact that the authorities were unable to validate what they contributed to the case. Some days ago, the Committee, which was the powers of an Attorney General, decided that selected MPs would sit down with the witnesses, in two different appointments, in order to ask a number of questions. However, the two whistle-blowers left, “Maximos Sarafis” and “Aikaterini Kelesi” did not show up for the appointment, despite the fact that, some weeks ago, they had testified with physical presence against an Attorney General. Therefore, the police issued a warrant of search, since they have to be brought before the Committee, even though they are not conducting a felony for not showing up.
At this point, the case finds itself at a critical stage. The potential uncovering of the whistle-blowers will answer several questions, since political operatives that were involved in the case have claimed that the persons, who are thought to be whistle-blowers had both no concrete knowledge of what they were testifying and also had an interest in assisting the authorities, because they were involved in illegal activities.
However, according to Greek law, this is now allowed, while there is also no financial reward, as in the US. According to politicians, which were initially involved, if the whistle-blowers are proven to have been used in the case against the provisions of Greek law, this will be tangible proof of the meddling by Dimitris Papaggelopoulos. The knowledge of the then Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will also be a central question, despite the fact that Tsipras has said many times that the only thing his government did was to leave the case with the Greek justice and not intervene.
Now, it will be up to the Attorney General against Corruption to determine, whether the identity of the whistle-blowers will be revealed, even before a selected audience. If not, however, a new political storm in under-way.
