ATHENS – Politicians accused secretly by unidentified whistleblowers of taking bribes from the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis have filed a court request asking for the identities to be revealed.

Two alleged witnesses code named Kelesi and Maximos Sarafis made unsubstantiated claims against 10 rivals of the then-ruling Radical Left SYRIZA of wrongdoing without having any evidence.

Despite that, former premier and now major opposition leader Alexis Tsipras said the scandal that has so far turned out to be phony was the biggest in the history of the modern Greek state and some in his party wanted people jailed.

The request for the removal of their protection was submitted to the judicial council of the Special Court by former prime minister Antonis Samaras, former deputy prime minister Evangelos Venizelos, Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras, the former EU commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos, Development Minister Adonis Georgiadis and Movement for Change MP Andreas Loverdos, said the newspaper Kathimerini.