GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Ilias G. Anagnostopoulos and Padelis V. Bratis, ANAGNOSTOPOULOS
ANAGNOSTOPOULOS 6 Patriarchou Ioakeim St 10674, Athens Greece
Tel: +30 210 729 2010 Fax: +30 210 729 2015 Email: contact@iag.gr Web: www.iag.gr
1. Fraud Claims 1.1 General Characteristics of Fraud Claims A distinction should be drawn between criminal and civil fraud claims, under the provisions of the Greek Criminal Code (GCC) and the Greek Civil Code (GCivC), respectively. Criminal Law Fraud Article 386 GCC describes the basic type of fraud, which is committed by knowingly rep - resenting untrue facts as true or by unlawfully concealing or suppressing true facts, and, in this way, persuading another person to act or omit to act, thus causing pecuniary damage. The intent of the perpetrator to gain illicit financial benefit for themselves or a third party is required. The GCC also provides for fraud variants, includ - ing: • computer fraud (Article 386A), which is com - mitted by abusing electronic data; and • subsidies fraud (Article 386B), whereby the perpetrator illegally obtains or misuses public funds.
Fraud exceeding EUR120,000 is considered a felony under Greek criminal law and entails imprisonment of a maximum of ten years and a monetary penalty. It is noteworthy that special criminal provisions might apply to certain types of fraud (eg, tax fraud, customs fraud, securities fraud). Corruption Offences involving corrupt payments include: • bribery, active and passive, in the public sec - tor (Articles 235 and 236 GCC), namely the act of giving/receiving or promising/accept - ing, directly or through third parties/intermedi - aries, undue benefits or gain to/from a public official for committing or omitting an act in the exercise of one’s duties or against one’s duties; and • bribery, active and passive, in the private sector (Article 396 GCC), which is an act of giving/receiving unlawful benefits or gain, directly or indirectly, in exchange for an action or omission contrary to one’s duties (as defined by law, contract, agreement, etc). Special rules apply regarding the bribery of judg - es (Article 237 GCC) and the bribery of political officials (Articles 159 and 159A GCC).
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