One of 3 «protected witnesses» in collapsed Novartis probe arrested on fraud charges

One of three protected witnesses in a controversial – an ultimately futile – investigation into allegations of kickbacks and bribes by Novartis’ subsidiary in Greece was reportedly arrested on charges of defrauding unsuspecting businesspeople.

Greek Police (EL.AS) announced the arrests of three suspects on Tuesday, as part of a probe into allegations of fraud.

One of the suspects, according to initial reports is «Maximos Sarafis», the alias used by one of the three protected witnesses. Authorities said the suspects presented themselves as executives of a foreign credit institution, promising fast-track loans in return for «filing fees» and «commissions» that required upfront payment. No loans were ever forthcoming.

Police said at least 10 business people were duped, with nearly a half million euros collected by the alleged perpetrators.

The explosive Novartis judicial probe in Greece, led by the former head of the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office, Eleni Touloupaki, ended in a fiasco after years of investigation, mostly over a period coinciding with a leftist SYRIZA government in office (2015-19).

Claims by the trio of protected witnesses involved hefty bribes and kickbacks funneled by Novartis Greece to 10 top office-holders in the country, including former prime ministers, health ministers and others, all rivals of then ruling SYRIZA.

A Parliament majority at one point authorized the continued investigation of the 10 politicians, lifting their immunity, as most were members of Parliament.

However, Touloupaki and her associate prosecutors failed to file even one indictment, a development that would have required corroborating evidence be presented. All 10 cases were eventually shelved.

Conversely, a US Justice Department settlement with Novartis in June 2020 resulted in a fine against the Swiss multinational of 345 million USD to resolve a “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act” case, as the US federal law is called.

In a statement issued at the time, the US Attorney’s office in New Jersey noted, among others, that “…The resolutions arise out of a Novartis Greece scheme to bribe employees of state-owned and state-controlled hospitals and clinics in Greece and to falsely record improper payments relating to the corrupt scheme and similar conduct…”

However, although the high-profile focus of the judicial investigation in Greece almost exclusively revolved around the claims against the 10 politicians, no evidence was ever gathered against such officials at state-owned and controlled hospitals and clinics.

The “Novartis scandal”, according to the then SYRIZA government, or “Novartis conspiracy”, according to the opposition, sparked an intense political firestorm in the country before the July 2019 general election.

One of the results of the subsequent fallout is that the former head of the anti-corruption office now finds herself as the defendant, on misdemeanor charges, in trial related to the botched Novartis probe.