Daily Times

Greece’s parliament on Thursday launched a probe into claims that nearly a dozen senior politicians received bribes from or helped promote Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis during their term in office.

After an overnight debate, a broad majority from all parties voted in favour of setting up a preliminary commission of inquiry into the issue, a move also requested by the 10 politicians themselves in order to clear their names.

“Is there anybody who doubts this company’s opaque practises?” Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told parliament, arguing that thousands of doctors were illegally paid to prescribe Novartis drugs, that the Swiss giant helped “manipulate” the prices of its products and laundered money through medical congresses of “questionable merit.” “After hubris, catharsis is required,” Tsipras said. “Justice will be served.”

Only parliament has the power to investigate former ministers for actions taken while in power.

Among the 10 senior politicians allegedly named by protected witnesses in a mostly US-based investigation are conservative ex-PM Antonis Samaras, EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos and central banker Yannis Stournaras.

They all deny wrongdoing.

‘Mud-slinging’: “I know Tsipras detests me, but you have gone too far. You will be held to account for this frame-up against me,” Samaras told parliament, accusing the government of engaging in a “mud-slinging war”.

The parliamentary commission has a month to recommend prosecution of any confirmed suspects to the chamber.

The Swiss giant is suspected of having bribed decision-makers and doctors between 2006 and 2015 to build a commanding position in the Greek health market, as well as secure inflated prices for its products even though cheaper alternatives were available.

Tsipras has pledged to employ “every power afforded by national and international law” to recover billions of euros believed to have been lost to the Greek health system as a result of the scheme.

But his opponents say the government is trying to deflect attention from the economy and foreign policy issues.

Critics also note that the allegations — some based on second-hand accounts — are not accompanied by hard evidence and include glaring factual errors.

Published in Daily Times, February  23^rd 2018.