GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Petros Machas, Dimitris Zanganas and Katerina Chrysi, Machas & Partners
as market manipulation (Article 31), including prac - tices such as the dissemination of false information or the execution of transactions that result in artificial price levels, thereby undermining the proper function - ing of supply and demand mechanisms. For the purposes of the law, a person in possession of inside information includes: • any person who holds such information by virtue of: (a) being a member of the administrative, manage - ment or supervisory bodies of the issuer or a participant in an emissions allowance market; (b) holding a participation in the capital of the is - suer or being a participant in such a market; (c) having access to the information through their employment, profession or duties; or (d) engaging in criminal activity through which the information is obtained; and • any person who has acquired inside information under circumstances other than those described above, where that person knows that the informa - tion constitutes inside information. The above offences are prosecuted ex officio by the competent Public who may initiate a preliminary examination, a pre-investigation, or a main inves - tigation in order to establish the commission of the offences, without the need for a complaint or request by any authority. In practice, the Hellenic Capital Mar - ket Commission typically submits a criminal report to the public prosecutor notifying the commission of any market abuse offence, as well as any related offence subject to ex officio prosecution. These offences are generally classified as misdemean - ours and are punishable by imprisonment. However, in cases involving significant value or habitual or profes - sional commission, they may be elevated to felonies. For example, in cases of insider trading, a custodial sentence of up to ten years may be imposed where: • the total value of the unlawful transactions exceeds EUR2 million; • the average daily value of the unlawful transactions exceeds EUR250,000;
• the financial benefit obtained, loss avoided or dam - age caused exceeds EUR400,000; or • the offence is committed on a professional or habitual basis and the financial benefit obtained, loss avoided or damage caused exceeds EUR150,000. 3.5 Tax Evasion and Financial Reporting A tax offence, within the meaning of Article 79 of Law 5104/2024, consists of intentional tax evasion, includ - ing, inter alia, the concealment of income, provided that the tax evaded per year exceeds EUR100,000. In cases of intentional VAT evasion (eg, non-payment of VAT or fraudulent receipt of a VAT refund), the thresh - old is reduced to EUR50,000. Under this framework, which targets serious instances of tax evasion and clarifies the conditions for estab - lishing criminal liability, evasion of income tax consti - tutes a misdemeanour punishable by imprisonment of at least two years or a monetary penalty where the evaded tax exceeds EUR100,000 per tax year, and a felony punishable by custodial sentence where it exceeds EUR150,000. No criminal liability arises where the evaded tax does not exceed EUR100,000 per year. Accordingly, tax violations are criminalised only where specific monetary thresholds are met, depending on the type of tax and the relevant fiscal year. The issuance and acceptance of forged or fictitious tax records constitute tax offences under Article 79 (4), with penalties ranging from imprisonment of at least one year where their total value exceeds EUR75,000, to custodial sentences of up to ten years where it exceeds EUR200,000. False entries or omissions in accounting books are subject to administrative fines under the Code of Tax Procedure. In addition, criminal liability may arise under Law 4548/2018 and Law 4738/2020 for inac - curate or misleading financial statements, including for board members who approve them and auditors who knowingly certify them. Criminal sanctions also apply under insolvency law for failures relating to the keeping or integrity of account - ing records, non-submission of statutory declarations,
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