Swiss Pharmaceutics conglomerate Novartis AG said that its own internal investigation found no evidence of bribery to Greek state officials, Bloomberg reports on Wednesday.
Novartis didn’t receive preferential pricing from the Greek state and to date has been unable to identify any “inappropriate payments” to government officials, a local spokesperson said in an email to Bloomberg.
Under Chief Executive Officer Vas Narasimhan said, the drugmaker is working to overhaul the way it does business with consultants, lobbyists and officials after becoming entangled in another scandal in the U.S. over payments to a firm led by President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer.
Greece is investigating reports of payoffs by Novartis in a high-profile case that implicates two of the country’s former prime ministers and a European Union commissioner. The U.S. is investigating similar allegations.
Greece’s investigation is still ongoing. Details of the case, which was first made public in 2017, are resurfacing as Alexis Tsipras’s government and the country’s main opposition party prepare for the first elections since an international bailout ended last August. At least ten politicians are involved, including former Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras, who’s now the Bank of Greece Governor and a European Central Bank Governing Council member.
Read our KTG reports on Novartis Gate here.
