“Street fight” to avoid the statute of limitations on crimes
A new round of research on Novartis case opens with the two former protected witnesses being at the center of it, as they are expected to be called to stand trial soon.
Just a few days later the decision to withdraw the protection and the disclosure of the persons who were behind the code names “Aikaterini Kelesi” and “Maximos Sarafis”, the procedures for their criminal investigation were launched.
So, the lawsuits filed against them by the politicians whose names were involved in the Novartis case are withdrawn from the file on their reports of funding from the pharmaceutical industry. These are 21 lawsuits that had been filed and are now under the “microscope” of the two prosecutors who will handle the urgent investigation that has started.
The number of lawsuits is large, as some of the politicians have turned with two or even three appeals against the previously protected witnesses who are expected to be called for explanations. Information, however, states that at this stage it is not deemed necessary to examine political figures.
In any case, the judicial authorities must race to complete the investigation as the… specter of the statute of limitations looms over the case. And this is because, as reported by competent sources, in November 2025 the 8-year period will be completed and the statute of limitations will begin for the first alleged acts, while in February 2026 for the last ones as well.
Maria Zacharopoulou
