GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Ilias Anagnostopoulos and Alexandros Mezari, Anagnostopoulos
be imposed on the person who exercises the admin - istration or management of the legal entity. Greek legislation also contains several other provi - sions in relation to fraud, computer fraud, cybercrime offences, tax evasion, money laundering, etc (see 3.1 Criminal Company Law and Corporate Fraud , 3.9 Cybercrimes, Computer Fraud and Protection of Company Secrets and 3.13 Money Laundering ) that may apply in relation to criminal activities that involve crypto-assets, blockchain-based assets or digital cur - rencies. In this context, the Anti-Money Laundering Authority and the judicial authorities also have the power to freeze assets. As a rule, judicial authorities must collect all incrimi - nating and exonerating evidence as well as any ele - ment concerning the defendant’s personality. The defendant and his/her counsel are free to organise an appropriate defence strategy against white-collar crime charges, depending on the stage of the criminal proceedings. This includes the right to request access to the case documents and to receive copies, to file motions asking the authorities to carry out specific investigative measures, to challenge certain investi - gation measures and/or the evidence presented, etc. The existence of an effective compliance programme may be considered when assessing (administrative or criminal) sanctions. 4.2 De Minimis As a rule, in Greece there are neither de minimis exceptions nor exempt industries or sectors in rela - tion to white-collar offences. 4.3 Plea Agreements, Co-Operation, Self- Disclosure and Leniency 4. Pleas and Defences 4.1 White-Collar Defences Under the Greek Code of Criminal Procedure, a crimi - nal conciliation between the perpetrator and the victim is possible under certain conditions (Articles 301 and 302 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). A defend -
ant who successfully negotiates with the victim may receive a reduced sentence from the court. Since 2019, plea bargaining is also recognised in Article 303 of the Greek Code of Criminal Procedure as an alternative procedure for certain offences (the smuggling of immigrants, narcotics etc). A defend - ant who successfully negotiates with the prosecutor may receive a reduced sentence from the court, which confirms the agreement. There is no general provision for leniency measures, but special provisions may be applicable in certain cases. For example, Article 263A of the Greek Penal Code provides, inter alia, for leniency measures (such as a reduced sentence or suspension of criminal pro - ceedings) for individuals who have participated in active bribery, breach of trust committed by public officials or other offences committed by public offi - cials, if they report the criminal conduct to the authori - ties and make substantial disclosures as to the offi - cial’s criminal acts. 4.4 Whistle-Blower Protection Provisions related to whistle-blower protection have been introduced by Law 4990/2022 on the transposi - tion of Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Par - liament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law. According to Article 2, the purpose of this law is to establish a system for internal and external report - ing of violations of Union law, to protect persons who report such violations, to regulate the process for sub - mitting, receiving and following up on reports, and to provide for sanctions. Protection measures include the prohibition of retali - ation against whistle-blowers, measures of support, measures for protection against retaliation and meas - ures for the protection of persons concerned, which are mainly based on the protection measures outlined in Directive (EU) 2019/1937. 4.5 Cross-Border Defence Strategies Defence lawyers are faced with new challenges in relation to complex cross-border investigations, trans - national access to electronic evidence, etc. Cross- border defence strategies require familiarity with dif -
84 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook