Eleni Touloupaki

The country's top corruption prosecutor, Eleni Touloupaki, has brought charges against 38 people in connection with the alleged disbursement of illegal loans by Piraeus Bank and the transfer of money abroad while capital controls had been in place, it emerged on Wednesday.

Former conservative premier Antonis Samaras said Tuesday that a decision by the corruption prosecutor's office to shelve the case against him concerning his alleged involvement in the Novartis case signals the beginning of an investigation into the "real, serious and dark scandal" surrounding the inquiry.

Greek corruption prosecutors on Tuesday shelved a part of the investigation into the alleged bribery case involving Swiss drugmaker Novartis which concerns former conservative prime minister Antonis Samaras, after no evidence was found to support the accusations.

Greece's Supreme Court has turned down a request by deputy prosecutor Ioannis Angelis for a fellow deputy prosecutor and a former prosecutor to be taken off a probe concerning the alleged bribery scandal involving Swiss pharmaceutical firm Novartis.

Corruption prosecutor Eleni Touloupaki on Friday brought charges of money laundering and bribing a politician against four unidentified suspects in the ongoing Novartis probe.
The four suspects, who are not state officials, will also face charges of breach of faith against the state.

Supreme Court deputy prosecutor Ioannis Angelis, who has claimed that the leftist government influenced an investigation into an alleged bribery scandal involving the Swiss drugs manufacturer Novartis, is to be summoned next Friday by another Supreme Court deputy prosecutor, Dimitris Dasoulas, who has been appointed by the court's main prosecutor Xeni Dimitriou to probe his claims. 

Straight on the heels of Justice Minister Michalis Kalogirou's order yesterday that a disciplinary probe be launched against him, former Deputy Supreme Court Prosecutor Ioannis Angelis (who was supervisor of the corruption prosecutors handling the Novartis probe) has sent an open letter to the press outlining a long string of procedural violations and allegations that there were targeted prosec

For over one year the Novartis affair has fueled constant political tensions and it will be a central issue in the forthcoming general election, which is to be held by October at latest.

To Vima on Sunday reported yesterday that Corruption Prosecutor Eleni Touloupaki (photo) has told the Judicial Council that she expects the case to be wrapped up within the next six months.

Greece's Supreme Court on Thursday approved another two-year term for corruption prosecutor Eleni Touloupaki.

According to reports, eight members of the Supreme Court's Supreme Judicial Council voted in favor of the renewal of her term with three against.

With one of its most prominent MPs, Andreas Loverdos, about to testify as a suspect in the Novartis case if his parliamentary immunity is lifted, the centre-left Movement for Change is charging that the entire affair is a conspiracy staged jointly by SYRIZA and the Karamanlis faction of New Democracy.