Protothema.gr Reveals Economic Crime Prosecutor’s Decision to Lift Protected Witness Status in Novartis Case

According to a document signed by the Deputy Prosecutor of Economic Crime, Eleni G. Papadopoulou, the true identities of the infamous witnesses with the code names “Maximos Sarafis” and “Aikaterini Kelesi” are Filistori Destempasidis and Maria Marangeli.

As indicated in the document addressed to Economic Crime Prosecutor Panagiota Fakou, Ms. Marangeli was granted protected witness status in 2017, while the “cloak” was applied to Mr. Destempasidis a year later.

The document states:

“In response to the order number 1987/2024 from the Head of the Economic Crime Division of the Athens Court of Appeals and your order number 2081/2024, I inform you that I have issued orders number AP 7 and 8/2024, respectively, to lift the orders number 12/2017 and 1/2018 from the former Deputy Prosecutor for Corruption Crimes regarding the public interest witnesses with the code names ‘Aikaterini Kelesi’ and ‘Maximos Sarafis.’

I am attaching copies of the aforementioned orders and would like to inform you that the true identities of the witnesses are Maria MARANGELI, daughter of Cleanthis, and Filistori DESTEMPASIDIS, son of Charalambos.”

See the document:

What Lifting Protected Witness Status Means

The decision now paves the way for political figures implicated through dubious testimonies in the Novartis case to take legal action against the two “protected witnesses” who have publicly accused them of being bribers for the multinational pharmaceutical company.

This development is marked by today’s bombshell decision from the relevant prosecutorial authorities, who have removed the “hoods” from the two remaining protected witnesses in the Novartis case and fully lifted their protection from any form of prosecution. These witnesses are “Aikaterini Kelesi” and “Maximos Sarafis,” individuals who, under these code names, had implicated ten political figures as the bribers in the Novartis scandal.

It should be noted that until a few months ago, lifting the protection status of a witness was not possible, and the disclosure of their name could only occur at the initiative of the witness themselves. However, a change in the Criminal Code last summer allowed the responsible prosecutor to reassess the protection status and determine whether to lift it or maintain it.

The declassification of these witnesses as “protected” and their designation as public interest witnesses by the Justice system comes approximately six years after the initial investigation was formed based on their testimonies.

Specifically, this investigation involved ten political figures from the period 2006-2015, including two former prime ministers, Antonis Samaras and Panagiotis Pikrammenos, as well as former ministers Yannis Stournaras, Dimitris Avramopoulos, Adonis Georgiadis, Evangelos Venizelos, Andreas Lykourentzos, Mario Salma, Andreas Loverdos, and George Koutroumanis. The allegations made against these individuals by the two protected witnesses included bribery, passive bribery, and breach of duty.

What followed is well known. This case ended in a “fiasco,” as the investigations against the political figures were shelved one after another due to lack of evidence. However, the shadow of these accusations likely lingered in the political life of the country and over those targeted by the testimonies given to then-corruption prosecutor Eleni Touloupaki by “Aikaterini Kelesi” and “Maximos Sarafis.”

Now, six years after this judicial back-and-forth, the two protected witnesses are forced to remove their “hoods” and face the consequences of the law, should the implicated political figures decide to take action against them. This is because the politicians accused by “Maximos Sarafis” and “Aikaterini Kelesi” now have the opportunity to sue them and seek judicial redress. Many of them had already filed lawsuits demanding the declassification of the witnesses as protected.

Who Are Kelesi and Sarafis?

But who might “Maximos Sarafis” and “Aikaterini Kelesi” truly be? From the very first months that the Novartis case emerged, all information pointed to individuals deeply embedded within the company’s Greek subsidiary.

Specifically, reports indicated that one was a woman who was very close both professionally and personally to Konstantinos Frouzis, the former powerful figure of Novartis in Greece. The other protected witness was said to be a former executive of Novartis’s Greek subsidiary. However, it later became known that, in January 2023, he had numerous legal troubles. This individual is Filistori Destempasidis, who was arrested during this time and charged with several serious offenses as the “mastermind” of a large fraud scheme targeting business owners through supposed quick and easy loans from banks in the United Arab Emirates. In fact, immediately after his testimony to the relevant investigator, he was placed in custody!

However, much earlier, in December 2019, Nikos Maniadakis, while testifying to the parliamentary preliminary investigation committee, revealed the names of the two protected witnesses in the Novartis case. “I have no doubt about the protected witnesses. This is because I have seen them. It is Marangeli and Destempasidis,” Nikos Maniadakis allegedly stated, though the individuals he named subsequently denied this. Nevertheless, he insisted on this claim and, according to reports, asserted that Maria Marangeli, the former secretary of Konstantinos Frouzis, “did not meet the requirements to be a protected witness,” while regarding Filistori Destempasidis, a former executive at Novartis, he noted that the company had dismissed him before the investigation into the scandal began, stating, “I do not classify him as a reliable witness as he has had his own issues within the company.”

In a significant development in the Novartis case, the Greek Prosecutor’s Office has revoked the protected status of two key witnesses, known by their code names “Aikaterini Kelesi” and “Maximos Sarafis.” This decision, made following a recommendation by Deputy Prosecutor Eleni Papadopoulou, came after requests from political figures implicated in the case.

The revocation also ends their immunity from prosecution and removes their designation as public-interest witnesses. As a result, these witnesses may now face legal actions from politicians they previously accused, including former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and other high-profile figures.

Samaras, in a public statement, celebrated the decision, declaring that “the path to uncovering the full extent of the Novartis conspiracy is now wide open.” He emphasized that the truth will emerge, revealing the orchestrators behind the scandal.