The bench prosecutor in a first instance Athens misdemeanor court on Wednesday recommended guilty verdicts against two former protected witnesses in an ultimately fruitless Novartis kickbacks investigation, and specifically on the charge of providing false testimony.
The pair is being tried for allegations, made in testimony before anti-corruption prosecutors, that 10 politicians received kickbacks by Novartis’ subsidiary in Greece. Their testimony was repeatedly leaked to the then pro-SYRIZA government press, although no charge was ever filed against them.
The prosecutor opined that the two defendants, whose names have been publicized, should be acquitted of a second charge of providing false accusation.
According to the prosecutor, the first defendant, known under the pseudonym of “Aikaterini Kelesi” made unsubstantiated accusations against top officeholders, such as ex-PM Antonis Samaras, and ministers Andreas Loverdos, Marios Salmas, Adonis Georgiadis, Yannis Stournaras, Dimitris Avramopoulos, and pharmaceutical executive and academic Nikos Maniadakis.
The other defendant, known as “Maximos Sarafis”, made accusations that would not be substantiated after years of investigation by a top prosecutor against Georgiadis, Stournaras, and Dimitris Avramopoulos.
