GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Ilias Anagnostopoulos and Alexandros Mezari, Anagnostopoulos
eign states with a focus on trade, the financial and transport sector, the oil and gas industry, etc). According to Article 142A of the Greek Penal Code, the intentional violation of sanctions or restrictive measures imposed by European Union regulations on states, entities, organisations and natural or legal persons is punishable by imprisonment of up to two years, unless another special provision provides for a more severe penalty. 3.11 Concealment There are various offences relating to “concealment”, such as: • intentionally harbouring/sheltering persons accused of having committed criminal acts as well as other acts of obstructing justice, destroying evi - dence, etc (Article 231 of the Greek Penal Code); and • intentionally accepting and disposing of proceeds derived from criminal acts (Article 394 of the Greek Penal Code). These offences are punishable by imprisonment of up to five years and a monetary penalty, depending on the circumstances of each case. Moreover, concealing the truth in relation to the nature, source, disposal, movement or use of assets, or the place in which they are located, or their ownership, while knowing that such property came from (par - ticipation in) criminal activity, may constitute money laundering, according to Article 2 par. 1b and Article 39 of Law 4557/2018. Criminal liability for the predicate offence does not exclude criminal liability for money laundering, pro - vided that the objective elements of money laundering are not identical with the predicate offence. The maxi - mum sentence for money laundering is imprisonment of up to 20 years and a monetary penalty. 3.12 Aiding and Abetting Article 45 of the Greek Penal Code defines co-prin - cipals as persons who intentionally co-execute an offence (strictly with regard to the constitutive ele - ments of the offence).
Instigators are criminally liable for the same sanctions as principles, according to Article 46 of the Greek Penal Code. The same applies for direct accessories, who inten - tionally provide decisive assistance during the execu - tion of the offence. Simple accessories, who provide any other kind of assistance before or during the exe - cution of the offence, shall be punished with a reduced sentence (Article 47 of the Greek Penal Code). 3.13 Money Laundering Law 4557/2018 is based on the relevant European legislation and contains the following main offences in relation to money laundering: • knowingly converting or transferring assets that come from (participation in) criminal activity with the purpose of concealing or disguising their illegal source, or of assisting any person involved in this activity to avoid the consequences of their actions; • concealing the truth in relation to the nature, source, disposal, movement or use of assets, or the place in which they are located, or their owner - ship, while knowing that such property comes from (participation in) criminal activity; • acquiring, possessing or using assets, knowing that such property comes from (participation in) criminal activity; and • using the financial sector by placing or transfer - ring proceeds of criminal activities so as to appear they have a legitimate origin (Article 2 of Law 4557/2018). Article 4 of Law 4557/2018 describes predicate offences (participation in a criminal organisation, brib - ery etc) and provides that every offence that is punish - able by a sentence of at least three months and from which a pecuniary benefit derives constitutes a predi - cate offence. Prosecution for the predicate offence is not necessary for a conviction on money laundering charges. The level of the sanctions (eg, imprisonment) varies, depending on the predicate offence and the circum - stances of each case. The maximum sentence for money laundering is imprisonment of up to 20 years and a monetary penalty.
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