Dimitris Papangelopoulos

Testifying before the Parliament committee probing the handling of the Novartis case by the previous government, Greek-Israeli businessman Sabby Mionis accused former alternate justice minister Dimitris Papangelopoulos, the publisher of the Dimokratia newspaper, Ioannis Filippakis, and two journalists of blackmail in 2016.

The second of two protected witnesses who had alleged that politicians had taken kickbacks from pharmaceutical giant Novartis did not keep a scheduled appointment with the parliamentary committee probing the handling of the Novartis scandal.

The head of the parliamentary committee investigating the case of former cabinet minister Dimitris Papangelopoulos has asked for the forced presence of the hitherto protected witness known by the name Maximos Sarafis as he failed to present himself on Tuesday afternoon at the hearing scheduled at the Athens police headquarters.

Former alternate justice minister Dimitris Papangelopoulos, who is accused of politically motivated interference in the investigation of the alleged scandal involving Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis and several Greek politicians, insists that his accusers will end up looking like "fools."

Former appeals court prosecutor Georgia Tsatani is on Monday to resume her testimony before a parliamentary committee probing possible political interference in the Novartis investigation by former alternate justice Minister Dimitris Papangelopoulos.
Last week Tsatani accused Papangelopoulos of trying to interfere in her work and using threatening language against her.

In testimony on Thursday to a parliamentary committee probing possible political interference in the Novartis investigation, former appeals court prosecutor Georgia Tsatani allegedly accused former alternate justice Minister Dimitris Papangelopoulos of trying to interfere in her work and using threatening language.

The decision of ruling New Democracy's parliamentary majority not to limit the scope of the House committee tasked with probing former justice minister Dimitris Papangelopoulos' handling of the alleged bribery scandal involving pharmaceutical giant Novartis and prominent Greek politicians, seems to have been vindicated by the results of the long-drawn-out investigation.

Former financial crimes prosecutor Panayiotis Athanasiou is said to have accused former alternate justice minister Dimitris Papangelopoulos of putting pressure on judicial officials to investigate or even prosecute individuals, mainly businessmen from the media sector, without any incriminating evidence, during his testimony before a parliamentary inquiry committee on Tuesday. 

In her second day of testimony before a parliamentary committee probing possible political interference in the Novartis bribery investigation, Greece's former top corruption prosecutor Eleni Raikou on Wednesday claimed that former alternate justice minister Dimitris Papangelopoulos had cost the Greek state millions of euros as well as seeking to intervene in the probe. 

Greece's former top corruption prosecutor Eleni Raikou, who quit her post in 2017 over alleged political interference in the Novartis bribery investigation, on Tuesday reportedly described former alternate justice minister Dimitris Papangelopoulos as "the definition of lawlessness."