Bribes to raise drug prices during the crisis: Novartis scandal shakes Greece
According to protected witnesses, the pharmaceutical company would have paid 50 million euros to leading politicians: the burden for the state coffers would be 23 billion. Prime Minister Tsipras has proposed a commission of inquiry: "If we had had this money we would have avoided the tears and blood maneuvers"
The story of the alleged bribes paid over the course of a decade by the Swiss giant to numerous leading politicians in Greece - among them former premiers Antonis Samaras and Panagiotos Pikrammenos, the European commissioner for internal affairs Dimitris Avrampoulos (former health minister) and the current governor of the Bank of Greece Yannis Stournaras – continues to shake up Greek politics.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras convened the Syriza parliamentary group, with the scandal at the top of the agenda. "Our goal is the truth and only the truth", said the prime minister, quoted by the ana-mpa agency, adding that the government has a responsibility to stop the squandering of public funds and shed light on the cases of corruption.
All the people involved, mentioned at the end of a parliamentary investigation born of revelations from concordant sources (including three protected witnesses), deny any wrongdoing.
50 million bribes
Novartis would have paid bribes (the papers speak of 50 million) to raise the prices of its drugs on the Greek market and to have them purchased by the national health service for public hospitals.
Greek law provides that the parliament gives the go-ahead for the impeachment of politicians.
For Greece, a bill of 23 billion
According to the first estimates of the parliamentary investigation, the overpricing of drugs in the period 2000-2010 cost the state coffers 23 billion euros.
“It is the equivalent of a memorandum. Over 10% of GDP,” Tsipras said. "If they had remained in public finance, we would have avoided the memoranda after 2010".
Commission of Inquiry
Tsipras has proposed a commission of inquiry to ascertain individual responsibilities.
Former premier Samaras responded by threatening to sue Tsipras, saying the allegations are just a political machination: "It's the most ridiculous and shameful conspiracy ever," he said
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