Prosecutor to summon politicians named in Novartis probe

Greek politicians whose names have been implicated in the Novartis bribery investigation without any evidence linking them to any wrongdoing are to be summoned for testimony next week by prosecutors probing the case, it emerged on Wednesday.

Deputy Supreme Court prosecutor Evangelos Zacharis is handling the probe into claims by former conservative premier Antonis Samaras, former finance minister Evangelos Venizelos and European Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos, who served as health minister, that they were intentionally targeted in the investigation.

Zacharis is expected to summon the three politicians next week to elaborate on their claims that the judicial probe and witness testimonies were fabricated.

Meanwhile a separate probe is under way into claims by Ioannis Angelis, another Supreme Court prosecutor, that the original investigation concerning the alleged bribery scandal involving Swiss pharmaceutical firm Novartis was mismanaged and undermined by the interventions of an unnamed politician.