ATHENS – Greece's anti-corruption prosecutor Eleni Touloupaki has been charged with felony and misdemeanor counts for pursuing a case against 10 politicians cleared of rival party accusations of taking bribes from the Swiss drug company Novartis.
She chased them for three years, based on the hearsay word of three whistleblowers who didn't produce a shred of evidence but as she continued to insist the case should continue to be investigated.
The business newspaper Naftemporiki said the charges were filed by the Athens prosecutor's office, following the conclusion of two separate investigations by two supreme court prosecutors, the most serious charge being abuse of power, as well as dereliction of duty and providing false certifications, which wasn't explained.
The case against her will be sent to an investigating magistrate, who will begin taking testimony, the charges coming a day after a parliamentary committee said charges should also be filed against former alternate justice minister Dimitris Papangelopoulos from the former ruling Radical Left SYRIZA.
He is accused of manufacturing a conspiracy to get leading members of the now ruling New Democracy, including former premier Antonis Samaras.
Former premier and SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras earlier said outright his rivals were guilty of “the biggest scandal since the creation of the modern Greek state,” although it has fallen apart before him.
Earlier, Touloupaki said she was the victim of a “a coordinated attempt at moral extermination” and testified to deputy Supreme Court prosecutor Evangelos Zacharis who is investigating allegations judicial officials were influenced by SYRIZA.
Touloupaki denied charges of abuse of power, dereliction of duty and making false statements, saying it was absurd that she should be accused of setting up a case that has unraveled, said Kathimerini, with no evidence produced.
She and two associates denied any wrongdoing in their handling of the alleged scandal, the three saying they believed the witnesses who made the claims but didn't explain why they pursued a case without evidence being found.