GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Ilias Anagnostopoulos and Alexandros Tsagkalidis, Anagnostopoulos
6. Disclosure Processes 6.1 Disclosure Obligations
been followed, the evidence that has been collected and any other information that is linked with the scope of the case. For reasons of clarity and precision, a report of this type shall be in written form. However, due to the absence of elaborate regulations on this matter, a written report might be used as aggravating evidence against legal or natural persons or be han - dled in inconsistent ways across multiple jurisdictions. 6.4 Protections Afforded to Whistle-Blowers Law 4990/2022 was passed by the Parliament, which transposed Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the Europe - an Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law. This is the first law that creates a frame - work for the protection of whistle-blowers in Greece and aims to establish a system of internal and external reporting of violations of Union law, to specify the pro - cedure for submitting, receiving and monitoring such reports, to offer broad protection to the persons who report such violations, and to provide for sanctions in case of violation of its provisions. In relation to the protection whistle-blowers enjoy, the said law provides for the prohibition of retaliation against whistle-blowers (eg, their employment or busi - ness status should not be negatively affected, discipli - nary measures cannot be imposed, and they should not be subjected to discrimination, disadvantageous or unfair treatment), measures for their support (eg, legal aid and psychological support), and measures for protection against retaliation (eg, they shall not be considered to have breached any restriction on disclo - sure of information and shall not incur liability of any kind in respect of such a report or public disclosure provided that they had reasonable grounds to believe that the reporting or public disclosure of such informa - tion was necessary for revealing a breach, suspension of any criminal, administrative or civil proceedings that may have been initiated due to the whistle-blower’s disclosure of information). As these are new provisions, there is not yet enough information to comment on their applicability and effectiveness.
Public officials who become aware, during the exer - cise of their duties, that a criminal act (of those pros - ecuted ex officio) has been committed, are under obli - gation to report it to the authorities. Failure to report is punishable as a criminal offence. Private individuals are not under the same obligation, but rather, they have the right to report a criminal act to the authorities. Although anti-bribery laws do not explicitly demand disclosure of violations, in the con - text of money-laundering regulations, compliance and internal audit control, there are obligations to expose and report irregularities related to financial records or suspicious transactions. In this respect, individuals who are obliged by law to contribute to transparency and corporate ethics may be faced with a dilemma when coming across a possible case of bribery. 6.2 Voluntary Disclosure Incentives Leniency measures are meant to facilitate disclosure of violations or irregularities. They apply in principle to individuals who expose corrupt practices and relate to their status as defendants in criminal cases. Cor - porations may still be liable from a tax point of view; however, they are entitled to initiate procedures for an amicable (tax) settlement, which can significantly reduce any fines to be imposed. Where leniency or immunity measures are provided for, the extent to which they apply depends on the type of information submitted to the authorities. As a rule, effective and complete exposure of illegal prac - tices may lead to lesser penalties or immunity from criminal prosecution or administrative sanctions. Immunity would usually be granted when the reporting of illegal practices is of such significance that it con - tributes substantially to the exposure of illegal activity or perpetrators. 6.3 Self-Disclosure Procedures There is no specific framework stipulating the content or format of the disclosure, eg, a final report of an internal investigation or a statement of an individual. Such a report/statement shall contain details about the subject under examination, the procedure that has
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