GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Ilias G. Anagnostopoulos and Padelis V. Bratis, ANAGNOSTOPOULOS
3. Corporate Entities, Ultimate Beneficial Owners and Shareholders 3.1 Imposing Liability for Fraud on to a Corporate Entity Civil Liability A civil lawsuit against both the individual perpe - trator and the legal entity (on behalf of which the defendant had acted) is in line with the relevant provisions on the jurisdiction of Greek courts (Articles 74 and 76 GCCivP in conjunction with Articles 334 and 922 GCivC). The sole adequate prerequisite for such an action is that the wrong - ful behaviour of the company’s director or officer occurred during the performance of their duties. Criminal Liability As a rule, only individuals can be held criminally liable under Greek law. In certain cases, cor - porate conduct may be sanctioned, especially in the context of anti-corruption, anti-money laundering and anti-cartel legislation, when it is linked with positive gains or advantages for the entity. The company is liable as an entity – not - withstanding the individual (criminal or admin - istrative) liability of employees – when there is some type of profit, gain or advantage to the company. The severity of sanctions in such cas - es (in the form of administrative penalties and fines) usually depends on the type of profit or gain and on the annual turnover of the company. 3.2 Claims Against Ultimate Beneficial According to established case law of Greek civil courts (including Judgment No 2/2013 of the Supreme Court of Greece, Areios Pagos, sitting in plenary session), the corporate veil of legal entities can be lifted, provided that the separate legal personality of a company (Article 70 GCivC) Owners Civil Law
Concerning proprietary claims (such as fraud claims), the monetary value of the object in question must also be specified. Pleading Fraud in Criminal Proceedings The existence of adequate evidence is a cru - cial prerequisite for the initiation and progress of standard criminal procedure. In this context, the prosecutor may dismiss vague criminal com - plaints or allegations that do not have a concrete legal basis (Article 43 GCCP). Similarly, the judicial council handling a criminal case following the conduct of a main investiga - tion may choose to not make a referral of said case to trial, if criminal charges are not corrobo - rated by adequate evidence (Article 308 GCCP). 2.8 Claims Against “Unknown” Fraudsters It is not possible to file a civil action against unknown litigants. According to Articles 118 and 216 GCCivP, a civil action should at least contain: • the names and addresses of the litigants; • the court to which the action is addressed; and • the particulars of the claim. On the contrary, a criminal complaint can be submitted even against unknown perpetrators. Further progress of the proceedings shall be suspended until the alleged perpetrators are identified. 2.9 Compelling Witnesses to Give Evidence Please see 2.1 Disclosure of Defendants’ Assets and 2.3 Obtaining Disclosure of Docu- ments and Evidence From Third Parties .
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