Subject: Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-01-11 From: "HR-Net News Distribution Manager" CONTENTS [01] Tsipras briefs SYRIZA's political secretariat on Cyprus talks [02] Economic prosecutor launches full audit into Novartis for possible tax evasion --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [01] Tsipras briefs SYRIZA's political secretariat on Cyprus talks Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras briefed SYRIZA's political secretariat on Tuesday on the developments of the ongoing Cyprus talks in Geneva, according to sources from the party. During the meeting, Tsipras stressed the government and SYRIZA's commitment for a fair and viable solution to the Cyprus issue, in the framework of the UN's decisions and Cyprus' status as an EU member-state. The same sources said the prime minister will likely continue his talks with foreign leaders and officials until the start of the multilateral meeting in Geneva. [02] Economic prosecutor launches full audit into Novartis for possible tax evasion After the corruption prosecutors last week, economic prosecutor Panagiotis Athanasiou requested on Tuesday a full audit into the economic and tax reports of Swiss drug maker Novartis' offices in Greece, as well of a number of senior executives, to investigate possible tax evasion and money laundering. The investigation will cover the last decade and follows a separate investigation into alleged bribes paid by the company to doctors and government officials to promote its products. Athanasiou ordered the opening of all bank accounts related to the company, as initial evidence suggests company executives are included in lists which contain the names of customers with large bank deposits, currently investigated by prosecutors. A meeting earlier at Maximos Mansion, chaired by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, government ministers and other officials discussed efforts to fight corruption and ways to assist the ongoing probe into Novartis.