“We fell victims of a criminal organisation, a gang led by Mr. Papagelopoulos,” businessman Sabby Mionis told the members of the Parliamentary inquiry Committee during his deposition on the Novartis scandal, Wednesday morning.

In the bombshell revelations, according to sources close to the hearings in the committee, the witness claimed that former Deputy Justice Minister Dimitris Papangelopoulos demanded a large sum of money in order for the politician to intervene in the businessman’s favour and clear his name in the pending legal case of the Lagarde list when his name was found that list.

Sabby Mionis said – according to the same sources – that Mr. Papangelopoulos had asked for a “kickback” at a meeting held in the Maximos Mansion in the presence of the then State Minister Nikos Pappas.

According to the witness, the meeting took place on March 10, 2016, at Mr. Pappas’ Ministerial office.

Mr. Mionis claimed the “Rasputin” mechanism operated as a “criminal organisation headed by Papangelopoulos” and members including well-known journalists and publishers, while the businessman said he would be filing a lawsuit in court against the gang for bribery and extortion.