New twist in Novartis affair as prosecutor implicates gov't official

In the wake of his claims that judicial officials mismanaged and skewed the Novartis bribery probe, Deputy Supreme Court Prosecutor Ioannis Angelis issued a statement on Wednesday suggesting that an unnamed government official influenced the investigation. 

The official is identified only as "Rasputin" and is said to be active in the judicial sector, but, as Angelis notes in his statement, "people are too scared to name him, for obvious reasons." He added that the official in question has the power to appoint the relatives of people "in the highest echelons of the justice system, possibly even the Supreme Court prosecutor's people."  

In his statement, Angelis also elaborates on his original claims of mismanagement by judicial officials as well as an alleged attempt to incriminate 10 Greek politicians of taking bribes from the Swiss pharmaceuticals manufacturer in the...