Novartis – Allegations that Novartis destabilized Greece.
Novartis accused of creating “the biggest scandal since the creation of the modern Greek state."
The Greek government disclosed on Monday 5 February 2018 it has been handed evidence of a massive bribery case in which Novartis is accused of making illegal payments to fix prices and increase market access. One minister has said these could involve 'illegal earnings of over four billion euros.'
Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis said documents from an investigation would be forwarded to parliament Tuesday. The minister's deputy described the allegations as "the biggest scandal since the creation of the modern Greek state."
Kontonis commented that the scale of illegal practices has "caused annual state expenditure on medicine to explode."
The justice minister further stated "When we are talking about scandals that involve medicine, the moral implications are enormous. At a time of financial crisis and recession, when it's difficult for our poorer fellow citizens to find the drugs they need for their health, there were certain drug makers who in an illegal and provocative way, worked to provide drugs at inflated prices and used state officials in the National Health Service to make sure certain drugs available where they should not have been."
The justice minister Stavros Kontonis stated further that Novartis had likely bribed "thousands" of doctors and civil servants to promote its products and continued to sell "overpriced" drugs even after the country was hit by economic crisis in 2010 and huge cuts were imposed on state budgets, leaving many Greeks without access to affordable medicine.
The alleged bribery has taken place since 2006. Greek prosecutors raided Novartis's premises near Athens in early 2017 to gather evidence. A 44-year-old Novartis manager tried to commit suicide by jumping off the Hilton Hotel in Athens. After an hour of negotiations, the man broke down and sobbing, told the policemen that he would not bear the burden for all the mistakes of his employer. He said that he was in fear of his life.
The matter is also under investigation by the FBI and the US-Justice department.
Preet Bharara, the former leading US Attorney (fired by Trump), claimed Novartis is a repeat offender.
Novartis currently faces accusations of 80’000 kickback incidents to USA doctors, falsifying trials in Japan, a corruption probe in South Korea, etc…..
In a statement emailed to The Associated Press, Novartis said: "We are aware of media reports relating to our business practices in Greece. We continue to cooperate with requests from local and foreign authorities. Novartis has not received any form of indictment or subpoena."
All global news services are publishing this story.
