Witness status adds new twist in Novartis probe

More political turmoil is expected in the already acrimonious probe into the judicial handling and possible political motives of the 2016 allegations that several top-flight politicians took bribes from Swiss drugmaker Novartis.

According to sources, the latest chapter in the affair concerns the questioning of two of the three witnesses who made the original bribery accusations to judicial authorities under the previous, leftist-led administration.

The Supreme Court is expected to decide whether the witnesses will maintain their protected status or see their names released on the public record in the next few days, a process that could trigger multiple lawsuits and delays.

What the court decides will also affect a separate investigation by the newly established Financial Prosecutor’s Service into the last two of the 10 politicians who were initially implicated in the case, Adonis Georgiadis and Dimitris Avramopoulos.