Greece establishes new Financial Prosecutor’s Office

The government is establishing a new prosecutorial structure to deal with financial crime in the wake of the confusion and public discord created by the Corruption Prosecutor’s Office’s investigation into the case involving pharmaceutical giant Novartis, which led to indictments on unsubstantiated grounds of politicians and the subsequent implication of former deputy justice minister Dimitris Papagelopoulos.

According to a law that was passed a week ago, a Financial Prosecutor’s Office has been established, which is expected to start operating by the end of the month, and will be composed of 16 prosecutors.

The head of this prosecutorial authority, which will have extensive responsibilities, will be a senior prosecutor who will be selected by the Supreme Judicial Council of the Supreme Court, a body that selects judges and prosecutors. 

After the establishment of the new Financial Prosecutor’s Office, the Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the Financial Crime Prosecutor’s Office, which were established in 2011 under the government of George Papandreou, will become a thing of the past.