Greek prosecutor ratchets up inquiries in Novartis bribery probe: report

At Novartis’ annual meeting last month, an investor was quoted lamenting that the “Greek thing will be the swamp that keeps on giving.” The "Greek thing" in question is a widening scandal involving allegations that the Swiss drugmaker paid Greek government officials bribes in return for orders for its products. The whole saga is getting so nasty that Novartis Chairman Joerg Reinhardt has had to repeat many times that if the company’s internal investigation reveals illegal activities in Greece, managers there will face consequences. But Greek officials don’t seem moved by Novartis’ promises. On Tuesday, a prosecutor working on the case, Eleni Touloupaki, requested information on bank accounts and other financial assets belonging to more than 30 former politicians being investigated in the case, according to the International New York Times.