GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Ilias Anagnostopoulos and Alexandros Mezari, Anagnostopoulos
tor’s Office. The Anti-Money Laundering authority has the power to freeze assets, even before a preliminary investigation. 2.2 Initiating an Investigation According to the Greek Code of Criminal Procedure, criminal proceedings are opened by an order of the Public Prosecutor, after receiving any kind of informa - tion that a criminal offence has been committed. In practice, the opening of criminal proceedings does not require serious indications that an offence has been committed; even thin evidence suffices to open a preliminary investigation. In flagrant crimes and other urgent cases, evidence must be secured by the Police or other investigating officers with no prior order from the Public Prosecutor. For certain misdemeanours, a criminal complaint by the alleged victim (within three months after they came to know of the offence and the perpetrator) is required in order to start criminal proceedings. 2.3 Powers of Investigation The investigative authorities have the power to con - duct all necessary investigating acts in relation to the offence under (preliminary or formal) investigation, such as examination of witnesses (eg, directors or employees of a company), inspection of places and searches (eg, at the headquarters of a company), expert opinions, seizure of documents, digital evi - dence or items, freezing of assets, etc. The investiga - tive authorities may also interview suspects. The seizure of digital data related to a crime under investigation is expressly regulated in Article 265 of the Greek Code of Criminal Procedure. In applying the above-mentioned investigating acts, the investigative authorities must respect the proce - dural rights of suspects and third parties, and the prin - ciple of proportionality. 2.4 Use of Technology in Investigations The use of ΑΙ or other advanced digital tools, such as predictive analytics, big data review or blockchain analysis, is not explicitly regulated in the Greek Code of Criminal Procedure. However, any lawfully acquired
evidence is, in principle, admissible in criminal pro - ceedings and can be adduced by the investigat - ing authorities or the parties (the defendant and the injured party). It is not prohibited for enforcement authorities and experts to make use of modern tools in a supportive manner, if there is appropriate scientific documenta - tion and the procedural rights of the parties are not violated. For example, the Greek tax and anti-money laundering authorities use digital tools to detect and combat tax evasion and money laundering. Communication surveillance is regulated in Law 5002/2022 and requires an order by the competent judicial authorities based on serious indications that specific offences have been committed. 2.5 Internal Investigations Internal investigations are not mandatory under Greek criminal law. The company itself decides whether an internal investigation should be carried out to examine the relevant facts, and whether to co-operate with the judicial authorities. During an internal investigation, Law 4624/2019 regarding data protection is applicable. The Greek legislation is based on the European General Data Protection Regulation. Under labour law, employees have a duty of loyalty to their employer and a duty to co-operate, which also covers internal investigations. However, from a crimi - nal law point of view, the general principle of nemo tenetur se ipsum accusare should be considered, and the attorney-client privilege must be respected. Companies are not obliged to share the findings of internal investigations with enforcement authorities. However, the judicial authorities have the power to: • interview directors, officers and employees; • carry out inspections and searches; and • seize documents in relation to a criminal offence under investigation. In this context, investigating authorities are, in princi - ple, not allowed to seize documents or digital data (eg,
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