The Greek government said on Friday it was seeking “compensation” from the Novartis laboratory, which has made a deal with US officials to prevent it from prosecuting corruption in Greece.
“The government will examine all possible means to ensure compensation to the Greek state,” said Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas.
“The damage caused by Novartis to the (Greek) state and to citizens must be repaired,” he added.
The Swiss laboratory Novartis and its Greek subsidiary agreed Thursday to pay 336 million dollars (318.5 million francs) to the American authorities within the framework of an amicable agreement which allows him to avoid prosecution for corruption in Greece.
The Greek subsidiary of Novartis admitted having paid bribes to employees of public hospitals in the country between 2012 and 2015 to increase its sales of pharmaceutical products, according to a press release from the federal prosecutor for New Jersey.
Paid doctors
Between 2009 and 2010, Novartis also admitted that doctors had been paid for their participation in an epidemiological study, when the unofficial reason was to push them to write more prescriptions for Novartis medicines.
According to an investigation by the Greek justice system, the artificial inflation of Novartis’ turnover in Greece cost the state some 3 billion euros (3.2 billion francs).
The Novartis affair had a great impact in Greece and has poisoned the political life of the country for several years.
It was the former left government of Alexis Tsipras who revealed it, then involving a dozen right-wing and socialist politicians.
All political figures denied the facts and even sued witnesses for false testimony and defamation.
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