Trial over hospital fraud postponed indefinitely

An appeals court in Athens has decided to postpone indefinitely the trial of 24 suspects in connection to the sale of orthopedic equipment to Greek hospitals by DePuy, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, between 2000 and 2006.

The judges decided to call off the trial after accepting an argument from the defense that the suspects had not been notified about the trial promptly.

DePuy executives are alleged to have bribed Greek doctors in order to secure the contracts for the equipment.

Representatives of the company in Greece, as well as from its UK headquarters, were among those due to go on trial, along with doctors accused of accepting under-the-table payments.

DePuy is accused of causing Greek taxpayers' losses of 11.5 million euros because it allegedly hiked the cost of equipment it sold to public hospitals by 35 percent.