GREECE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Ioannis Giannidis and Natasha Kaisari, GIANNIDISKOURELEAS Law Firm
mens rea – ie, dolus (intent) or negligence of the per - petrator; hence, legal entities cannot be held crimi - nally liable nor subject to criminal sanctions, although administrative sanctions may be applicable – eg, in cases of anti-money laundering law violations. By virtue of Articles 134 and 135 of Law No 5090/2024, quasi-criminal proceedings are established against legal entities exclusively for certain bribery offences. Reference to these Articles is also made in the new Law 5232/2025, which was issued on 22 September 2025 and refers, inter alia, to criminal offences and penalties for the violation of EU restrictive measures. General rule If a company is under scrutiny for potential criminal offences related to its business, criminal investiga - tion focuses on the company’s legal representatives appointed by virtue of the articles of association and/ or board of directors’ decisions delegating the author - ity of representation to the CEO and/or other execu - tives. The time of commission of a criminal offence is cru - cial in identifying potential suspects or defendants; the management of a company cannot be held liable for acts or omissions that took place prior to or after their tenure. Thus, potential criminal liability risk under Greek jurisdiction concerns the legal representatives of the company at the time of the offence, as opposed to the previous or subsequent management or the For certain specific bribery offences, Articles 134 and 135 of Law 5090/2024 dictate, inter alia, the following. If active bribery of judges, politicians, public officials, etc, or being an accessory thereto, is committed on behalf or for the benefit of a legal entity by a person acting individually or as a representative of the legal entity, a fine ranging from EUR50,000 to EUR10 mil - lion is imposed on the legal entity. The fine may reach double the annual pre-tax net earnings of the legal entity, if the latter exceeds EUR10 million. company itself. Bribery offences
The Law also establishes liability in cases where insufficient supervision allowed for the commission of bribery on behalf or for the benefit of the legal entity by lower-level employees or assignees. The fine may range from EUR10,000 to EUR5 million, or be equal to the annual pre-tax net earnings of the company if the latter exceeds EUR5 million. Further sanctions are possible, including permanent or temporary revoca - tion or suspension of an operating licence, or disquali - fication from business activities. If criminal charges are brought for such bribery offenc - es, the above sanctions are imposed by the compe - tent court, irrespective of any conviction of natural persons, and even if prosecution against natural per - sons has stopped or has been declared inadmissible during pre-trial proceedings. The Law dictates that legal entities are party to the proceedings and have the rights granted to defendants. Sentence bargaining is possible and leads to lower fines and the exclusion of further sanctions. The provisions of Articles 134 and 135 of Law 5090/2024 raised several questions concerning the exact nature of the legal entities’ liability. As far as is known based on publicly available data, the provi - sions have not yet been tested in practice. Violation of EU restrictive measures In line with EU Directive 2024/1226 on the definition of criminal offences and penalties for the violation of EU restrictive measures, Greek Law 5232/2025 estab - lishes criminal liability for specific acts or omissions stipulated therein, where they are intentional and in violation of a prohibition or an obligation that consti - tutes an EU restrictive measure or one that is set out in a national provision implementing an EU restrictive measure, where national implementation is required. Liability of legal entities for such offences is estab - lished by virtue of Articles 7 and 8 of Law 5232/2025, the latter referring, inter alia, to Articles 134 and 135 of Law 5090/2024.
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