The Athens Prosecutor’s Office of First Instance is set to investigate 21 lawsuits filed by political figures against two former protected witnesses in the Novartis case whose testimony implicated political figures – all rivals of the SYRIZA government in power at the time (2017-2018). These lawsuits, previously archived, were reopened after the Economic Prosecutor’s Office reclassified the witnesses, removing their status as public interest witnesses.
The lawsuits will be investigated by the two prosecutors with urgency, as the statute of limitations for the alleged offenses is approaching, with the eight-year limitation period for the first alleged offenses expiring in Nov. 2025 and in Feb. 2026 for the more recent ones.
The two former protected witnesses are expected to be summoned for explanations in the near future.
The removal of witness protection is a recent measure stemming from an amendment to the Penal Code, effective for just five months since last May.
The formerly protected witnesses had accused officeholders of receiving bribes from the multinational drug manufacturer Novartis’ subsidiary in Greece. However, after years of investigation neither a charge nor indictment was ever presented in a courtroom.
10 political figures were implicated in the case, including two former prime ministers, Antonis Samaras and caretaker premier Panagiotis Pikrammenos, the current BoG Gov. Yannis Stournaras and a number of ex ministers serving from 2006 to 2015, mostly politicians who served as health ministers in governments prior to January 2015.
In a statement regarding the decision of the Economic Prosecutor’s Office to lift the protective status of the two witnesses in the Novartis case, the former European Commissioner, Dimitris Avramopoulos stated, “Now is the time to learn about the physical and moral perpetrators and the motives behind this criminal act against the dignity of their victims and the democratic institutions.”
He further added that this decision of the judiciary opens the way for the revelation of all aspects of the largest conspiracy in the history of the Greek state.
