Justice minister says Novartis scandal even bigger than Siemens
As a cross-party parliamentary committee prepares to investigate instances of corruption in Greece’s health sector, Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis said that a scandal embroiling the Swiss pharmaceutical firm Novartis and thousands of Greek doctors and health professionals, “surpasses” the notorious Siemens cash-for-contracts affair.
In comments made to 104.9 FM, Kontonis noted that thousands of doctors appear to have been paid bribes from Novartis “directly from Switzerland.”
“The overpricing of medicine was not only happening during the time when there was money in state coffers but also during the period of the memorandums, during the impoverishment of society, of our fellow citizens, poor people who had no access to medicine and healthcare,” he added.
