GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Ilias Anagnostopoulos and Alexandros Tsagkalidis, Anagnostopoulos
4.5 Safe Harbour or Amnesty Programme Article 263A of the GCC provides leniency meas - ures applicable to the perpetrators of active brib - ery. If individuals who have participated in active bribery report the criminal conduct of the bribed official to the authorities and make substantial disclosures as to the official’s criminal acts, they are eligible either to receive a lesser sentence, or to be granted a suspension of criminal proceed - ings against them by virtue of a decision of the indicting court until the validity of the informa - tion they provided is verified, or to be granted suspension of their sentence. There is no gen - eral provision for leniency measures applicable to companies or legal entities with respect to acts of corruption. It is possible, however, in view of the ability of the authorities to choose which administrative penalties will be imposed, to apply the minimum fine and no other penalties. Criminal penalties are imposed solely on indi - viduals and consist mainly of imprisonment (between ten days and 20 years) and monetary fines. 5.2 Guidelines Applicable to the Assessment of Penalties The legal provisions applicable to each case define the range of the sentence to be imposed by the court (ie, the minimum and maximum duration of imprisonment). The GCC (Articles 79–85) sets out the guidelines for imposition and calculation of sentences, within the range mentioned in 5.1 Penalties on Conviction . In particular, the court has to consider various factors, such as the severity of the act and the personality of the defendant. The court also examines – following a request by the defence 5. Penalties for Violations 5.1 Penalties on Conviction
– whether any mitigating circumstances apply, which could lead to a lesser sentence. Such circumstances include lack of prior involvement in criminal acts, good behaviour after the act, showing true remorse after the act, and making efforts to amend or lessen the negative impacts of their actions. However, the courts also take into account previous final convictions when cal - culating the sentence that will be imposed on the individual. Public officials who become aware, during the exercise of their duties, that a criminal act (of those prosecuted ex officio) has been com - mitted, are under obligation to report it to the authorities. Failure to report is punishable as a criminal offence. Private individuals are not under the same obli- gation, but rather, they have the right to report a criminal act to the authorities. Although anti- bribery laws do not explicitly demand disclosure of violations, in the context of money-laundering regulations, compliance and internal audit con - trol, there are obligations to expose and report irregularities related to financial records or sus - picious transactions. In this respect, individuals who are obliged by law to contribute to transpar - ency and corporate ethics may be faced with a dilemma when coming across a possible case of bribery. 6.2 Voluntary Disclosure Incentives Leniency measures are meant to facilitate dis - closure of violations or irregularities. They apply in principle to individuals who expose corrupt practices and relate to their status as defend - ants in criminal cases. Corporations may still be 6. Disclosure Processes 6.1 Disclosure Obligations
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