Prosecutor charges KINAL lawmaker with bribery in Novartis probe
Greece’s top corruption prosecutor Eleni Touloupaki ordered the Athens prosecutors office to bring bribery charges against Movement for Change (KINAL) lawmaker Andreas Loverdos, as part of the ongoing investigation into the alleged graft scandal involving Swiss drugmaker Novartis.
The felony charge follows a request submitted by the public prosecutor in August for Parliament to lift his immunity. The House approved the request on October 3, after the former PASOK minister said he wanted to defend himself.
Loverdos is being investigated in connection with alleged bribes during his term as health minister from April 2011 to May 2012.
He has denied all the charges and has sued all the witnesses who have testified against him in the probe, accusing them of slander and perjury.
In September, he also filed a lawsuit against Touloupaki and two more judicial officials over their handling of the Novartis bribery case, accusing her of abuse of power and dereliction of duty for the way that she handled allegations made by unnamed witnesses.
