GREECE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Ovvadias S. Namias, Vasileios Petropoulos, Ilias Spyropoulos and Emmanouil Apostolakis, Ovvadias S. Namias Law Firm
an application for criminal prosecution is to be made to the public prosecutor’s office and (primarily) when this is waived. For example, in a recent internal investigation concerning a large pharmaceutical company, the incor - rect legal assessment of acts preceding the predicate offence as acts of money launder - ing resulted in an unnecessary extension of the scope of the criminal prosecution. The adverse consequences of such an error are obvious. • A specialised criminal lawyer always has to deal with the possibility that the contents of their final report can be assessed in other legal systems by means of mutual legal assistance, with the possibility of an evalua - tion of evidence already provided via mutual legal assistance through foreign legal orders (particularly within the scope of the principle of speciality). • As external, independent evaluators, they are able to ensure more favourable treatment by the authorities towards the board members following the specialist lawyer’s advice. It should not be forgotten that, although the area of internal investigations is to be regarded as a legal vacuum, the investigators are not operating in a lawless space. In addition to data protec - tion law, supplementary penal provisions also pose a number of hurdles that must be taken into consideration at all costs in order to avoid criminal liability, claims for damages because of the internal investigation, and possible grounds for nullity. The relevant criminal provisions focus on pro - tecting the individual interests of employees in individual investigative measures. The conflict between the duty to testify under labour law and the nemo tenetur principle comes to the fore here. The lawyer’s duty of confidentiality and
other professional duties, which are established for the protection of the client, should also be considered. Internal Investigations – a Modern Practice Set to Endure as Greece Evolves The assessment that this practice will prevail in Greece is based on the following facts and thoughts. • Αfter a dramatic decade of great recession and political instability, which almost led the country out of the Eurozone as well as the European Union, Greece is implementing a well-structured modernisation programme. This programme has been approved by the relevant European institutions as a financing programme for the Greek economy through the EU recovery fund (next generation EU). Due to the fact that the last evaluations of the rating agencies as well as the economic organisations are particularly positive for Greece, it seems that the Greek modernisa - tion programme is also receiving recognition in the international markets for investments. • Greece, according to general opinion, is entering a phase of change and moderni - sation for its production model in various sectors. According to the National Recovery Plan under the title “Greece 2.0”, funds to Greece supporting economic recovery after the COVID-19 crisis total EUR32 billion for the period from 2021 to 2025. Furthermore, it is necessary to take into account the economic resources provided by European develop - ment programmes, as well as private invest - ments required for large investment projects. In total, a national capital of EUR59 billion will be created, which will completely change the Greek economy, and, as mentioned above, it should be noted that international debt-rating agencies have already recently upgraded
181 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook