It closes with the will of the Council of Misdemeanors the part of the so-called “Novartis scandal” concerning the executives of the company who had been accused of bribing politicians and doctors.

At the same time though doctors who were audited by the Financial Prosecutor’s Office are facing felony charges as they appear to have received money to prescribe the company’s drugs.

With the decree, which was issued more than seven years after the start of the judicial investigations into the practices of the pharmaceutical industry, the judges of the Council decide that the then senior executive of the Greek division of the company Konstantinos Frouzisthe professor Nikos Maniadakis and their three co-accused, executives of the parent company Novartis, did not commit the act of joint bribery in succession and direct cooperation in the crime in question “in relation to the 10 political persons investigated for the performance of passive acts under them of bribery either as suspects or accused”.

In the decree number 764/2023, the judges order the exoneration of the former top executive of Novartis Hellas Kostantinos Frouzis, Nikos Maniadakis and their three co-accused in executive positions at the parent company Novartis, after ruling that no evidence has emerged for the performance of the acts that were attributed to them and concerned the bribery allegations of:

“a) Antoniou Samaraswho served as prime minister from 20-6-2012 to 6-1-2015

b) Panagiotis Pikramenou, who served as caretaker prime minister from 16-5-2012 to 20-6-2012

c) Andreas Lykourentzou, who served as Minister of Health from 6-21-2012 to 6-25-2013

d) Mario Salmawho served as Deputy Minister of Health from 6-22-2012 to 6-23-2013

e) Ioannis Stournaras, who served as Minister of Finance from 5-7-2012 to 10-6-2014

f) Evangelos Venizelos, who served as Minister of National Defense from 7-10-2009 to 17-6-2011, Minister of Finance from 17-6-2011 to 21-3-2012 and Deputy Prime Minister from 25-6-2013 to 25-1-2015

g) Georgiou Koutroumanis, who served as Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Security and then Minister in the same ministry from September 2010 to May 2012

the) Adonis-Spyridona Georgiadiswho served as Minister of Health and Social Solidarity from 6-25-2013 to 6-10-2014

i) Dimitriou Avramopoulos who served as Minister of Health and Social Solidarity from 15-2-2006 to 7-10-2009

I) Andreas Loverdou who was minister of health and social solidarity from 7-9-2010 to 17-5-2012″.

In the same will it is stated that the five defendants from the company’s side are also acquitted of the crime of bribing non-politicians as with the change of the Criminal Code (2019) it is a misdemeanor and is now time-barred due to the lapse of 5 years.

However, for the part concerning doctors who were allegedly bribed to promote the company’s products, the financial prosecutor who is conducting an investigation, by order of the Prosecutor’s Office of First Instance, requests criminal prosecution in the degree of felony for passive bribery (bribery) and legalization of illegal money against 15 doctors for whom data emerges from the investigation being carried out. The Financial Prosecutor’s Office is also investigating other doctors who appear to be involved in the case.