Loverdos cleared of all charges in Novartis affair
Andreas Loverdos, a former health minister, has been cleared of all charges in connection with the Novartis affair.
In a unanimous decision, the Council of Misdemeanors Court Judges on Wednesday upheld the recommendation of prosecutor Maria Kapsou, who said there was no evidence to back up the allegations of any criminal activity in an alleged bribery case involving Swiss drugmaker Novartis.
Loverdos had been investigated in connection with alleged bribes from the Swiss pharmaceuticals group during his term as health minister from April 2011 to May 2012. He was among 10 political figures, including former prime ministers, implicated but cleared of taking part in an alleged kickback scheme.
Loverdos was the last of the 10 political figures who were in the frame of the investigations after the transmission of the file to the Parliament in February 2018 by the then anti-corruption prosecutor Eleni Touloupaki.
