Relevant international and domestic law

International anti-corruption conventions

To which international anti-corruption conventions is your country a signatory?

Greece is a signatory to:

  • the UN Convention against Corruption (Law No.3666/2008);
  • the Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption and Additional Protocol (Law No. 3560/2007);
  • the EU Convention on the Protection of the European Communities’ Financial Interests (Law No.2803/2000);
  • the EU Convention against Corruption involving Officials of the European Communities or Officials of member states of the European Union (Official Journal C195 of 25 June 1997) (Law No.2802/2000); and
  • the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (Law No. 2656/1998) (OECD Convention).
Foreign and domestic bribery laws

Identify and describe your national laws and regulations prohibiting bribery of foreign public officials (foreign bribery laws) and domestic public officials (domestic bribery laws).

Foreign bribery

Provisions on bribery of foreign public officials first came into force in 1998, with the ratification of the OECD Convention. This was a stand-alone provision in 2007, through Law No.3560/2007, which ratified the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption and Additional Protocol (with further amendments in 2008). Numerous amendments were made to the Greek Criminal Code (GCC) in relation to the basic structure of the provisions on bribery. According to the latest Criminal Code amendments (Law No.4619/2019), provisions related to corruption offences (active and passive bribery, bribery of political persons, bribery of judiciary) are applicable to foreign public officials. All relevant articles of the Greek Criminal Code include an addition stipulating that their provisions apply to foreign officials (public servants, judges, political officers).

Domestic bribery

The Greek Criminal Code includes a special section on criminal acts by public officials, with bribery being one of them (articles 235, 236 and 237).

The main provisions of the GCC are:

  • article 235, which punishes passive bribery;
  • article 236, which punishes active bribery;
  • article 237, which punishes passive bribery and active bribery involving members of the judiciary;
  • article 237A, which punishes trading in influence;
  • article 396, which punishes bribery in the private sector;
  • article 159, which punishes passive bribery of political officers; and
  • article 159A, which punishes active bribery of political officers.

Articles 235 (passive bribery) and 236 (active bribery) of the GCC are directly applicable to foreign public officials. Article 235 (passive bribery) is not applicable to acts within the scope of OECD Convention, which provides only for acts of active bribery.

Article 235 (passive bribery) describes as punishable the act of requesting or receiving, directly or indirectly through third persons in favour of oneself or others, benefits of any nature or accepting a promise of such benefits to act or omit to act in the future, with regard to public duties or contrary to these duties.

Article 236 (active bribery) describes as punishable the act of offering, promising or giving to a public official, directly or indirectly through third parties in favour of oneself or others, benefits of any nature (for the public official) to act or omit to act in the future or for a past act or omission to act with regard to public duties or contrary to these duties.

Article 237 of the GCC (bribery of a judge) as described above is also applicable to members of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the European Court of Auditors (ECA), international court judges, arbitrators, judges and jurors of foreign jurisdictions.

Articles 159 and 159A of the GCC (passive and active bribery of political officials) are also applicable to members of the European Council or the European Parliament and political officials of foreign countries (members of parliament or local governments, etc).

Successor liability

Can a successor entity be held liable for violations of foreign and domestic bribery laws by the target entity that occurred prior to the merger or acquisition?

Liability of a successor entity could arise in cases where individuals managing the target entity are held criminally liable for acts of corruption and the target entity has benefited from these acts. Given the fact that the sanctions imposed against an entity are of an administrative nature (fines, suspension of activities, ban from public tenders), it is highly likely that these sanctions will be imposed against the successor entity as well. With respect to the administrative sanctions, the procedure followed resembles the procedure of imposing tax-related fines and sanctions. For these purposes, a legal entity is considered as a whole (ie, the successor has all the liabilities and rights of the target entity).

Civil and criminal enforcement

Is there civil and criminal enforcement of your country’s foreign and domestic bribery laws?

Since ratification of the Civil Law Convention on Corruption in 2001 (Law No.2957/2001), there are also provisions related to Greek civil law, such as the right to seek compensation, the right to seek annulment of an agreement that has been the result of an act of bribery and protection of civil servants from disciplinary punishments after they reported corruption practices to higher officials.

Dispute resolution and leniency

Can enforcement matters involving foreign or domestic bribery be resolved through plea agreements, settlement agreements, prosecutorial discretion or similar means without a trial? Is there a mechanism for companies to disclose violations of domestic and foreign bribery laws in exchange for lesser penalties?

Plea agreements and settlement agreements were generally not provided under Greek law. Following an amendment to the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure (effective since 1 July 2019), there are provisions for plea agreements and settlement agreements in relation to financial and economic crimes but not all are applicable to bribery or corruption acts.

Currently there is a set of rules concerning corruption cases:

  • plea bargaining provisions whereby the defendant is given the option to bargain the sentence (accepting the charges). In this case, the charges are formulated by the Prosecutor or the investigating judge and the defendant may only plea bargain the sentence; and
  • provisions for leniency measures ranging from lesser sentences to complete suspension of the criminal procedure against perpetrators who report corruption acts or provide vital information or expose such acts committed by public officials or political persons.

There are no provisions for plea agreements with respect to entities. These provisions apply only to natural persons.

Foreign bribery

Legal framework

Describe the elements of the law prohibiting bribery of a foreign public official.

Articles 235 (passive bribery) and 236 (active bribery) of the GCC are directly applicable to foreign public officials. Article 235 (passive bribery) is not applicable to acts within the scope of the OECD Convention, which provides only for acts of active bribery.

Article 235 (passive bribery) describes as punishable the act of requesting or receiving, directly or indirectly through third persons in favour of oneself or others, benefits of any nature or accepting a promise of such benefits to act or omit to act in the future or previously, with regard to public duties or contrary to these duties.

Article 236 (active bribery) describes as punishable the act of offering, promising or giving to a public official, directly or indirectly through third parties in favour of oneself or others, benefits of any nature in order (for the public official) to act or omit to act in the future or a past act or omission to act with regard to public duties or contrary to these duties.

Article 237 of the GCC (bribery of a judge) as described above is also applicable to members of the ECJ and the ECA, international courts judges, arbitrators, judges and jurors of foreign jurisdictions.

Articles 159 and 159A of the GCC (bribery of political officials) are also applicable to members of the European Council or the European Parliament and political officials of foreign countries (members of parliament or local governments).

Definition of a foreign public official

How does your law define a foreign public official, and does that definition include employees of state-owned or state-controlled companies?

A public official, according to article 13(a) of the GCC, is the person to whom duties or service is granted (even temporarily) by the state, municipal or other state-controlled legal entities. A foreign public official is (in accordance with articles 235 and 236 of the GCC) an individual serving in any body or organisation of the EU located in Greece or international organisations or bodies of which Greece is a member and individuals engaging in public functions on behalf of a foreign country.

Gifts, travel and entertainment

To what extent do your anti-bribery laws restrict providing foreign officials with gifts, travel expenses, meals or entertainment?

Despite the wording of the relevant law, which is broad and may include all of the above, anti-bribery legislation does not apply to symbolic gifts or gifts of courtesy. The difference lies primarily with the scope of the gift and the openness of offering such a gift. However, one could not exclude the application of regulations and laws on corruption in cases of systematic use of such gifts (eg, travel expenses, meals, entertainment) in the general context of seeking to influence a public official.

Facilitating payments

Do the laws and regulations permit facilitating or ‘grease’ payments to foreign officials?

Grease payments are prohibited. Such payments are not recognised under the Account and Book Keeping Regulation as legitimate expenses. All payments and expenses must be duly registered and supported by relevant documentation (proper invoicing, contract agreements). If not duly registered, such payments would be considered questionable or even fictitious and potentially payments for gifts or benefits directly or indirectly through third parties. This type of payment also constitutes violations of the relevant tax provisions and may trigger (depending on circumstances and value) criminal liability for related tax offences.

In addition, rules and regulations for money laundering may apply if payments are connected to questionable conduct; for example, proceeds of a criminal act.

Payments through intermediaries or third parties

In what circumstances do the laws prohibit payments through intermediaries or third parties to foreign public officials?

The broad wording of articles 235 and 236 of the GCC (passive and active bribery) cover gifts or financial benefits in a direct or indirect way given in favour of the perpetrator or others. In addition, both provisions make special reference to intermediaries to a bribe. In this view, intermediaries or third parties may be held criminally liable if these transactions are carried out within the context of corruption. Payments through intermediaries are also questionable in respect to proper bookkeeping and taxation law.

Individual and corporate liability

Can both individuals and companies be held liable for bribery of a foreign official?

Greek law provides that only individuals may be held liable for a criminal act, thus being subject to classic penal punishments (eg, imprisonment). Since 1998, after the passing of Law No.2656/1998, there has been a specific provision for penalties to legal entities benefiting from acts of bribery of foreign public officials in the form of administrative fines. A company (legal entity) bears liability for acts of bribery and corruption in the form of administrative penalties. Article 45 of Law No.4557/2018 (anti-money laundering regulation) provides for the liability of legal entities if the acts of active and passive bribery of public officials, political officials or judges were committed in the legal entities’ favour by individuals empowered to act on their behalf (as managers or directors) or to make decisions in relation to the company’s activities, etc, and provide for a series of administrative penalties (eg, fines, prohibition of business activities, ban from public tenders). This provision is applicable to perpetrators, accessories and instigators alike.

Private commercial bribery

To what extent do your foreign anti-bribery laws also prohibit private commercial bribery?

Article 396 of the GCC provides for punishment of bribery in private commercial and business activities. The basic elements of this type of bribery include benefits or promises to deliver benefits or advantages to individuals working with companies in the private sector for violating the rules and obligations of their work.

Defences

What defences and exemptions are available to those accused of foreign bribery violations?

Under Greek law, there are no pre-defined defences and exemptions. The Greek Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates the evidence a party (prosecuting authority or defence) may use to argue its case. In this respect, the parties argue the case based on the evidence (which is shared by all parties) within the limits of the Greek Code of Criminal Procedure.

Agency enforcement

What government agencies enforce the foreign bribery laws and regulations?

Law No.4022/2011 provides for a special investigation body formed of investigating judges with the first instance court, in Athens, responsible for acts of corruption.

Greece has a special Prosecutor’s Office against Corruption. The Prosecutor against Corruption supervises all preliminary inquiries related to corruption acts and major investigations according to the provisions of Law No.4022/2011. These legal changes provide for speedier investigation of such crimes, faster referral to trial, instant freezing of assets and full support by all other agencies in terms of gathering and processing evidence.

Law No.4022/2011 applies to serious crimes (felonies) committed by ministers and deputy ministers, members of parliament, deputy officials, public servants, employees with state-controlled institutions, etc. The Prosecutor’s Office against Financial and Economic Crimes (previously established by Law No.3943/2011) now functions more in the sphere of tax-related offences and money laundering.

The Prosecutor’s Office against Corruption (as well as the investigating judges under Law No.4022/2011) has unrestricted access to privileged information such as bank records, tax records, stock exchange records and public services records. It can also issue orders for lifting of bank secrecy for a limited period of time, to seize assets, etc.

In cases where there are indications of money laundering, a parallel investigation may be opened by prosecuting authorities following information and feedback by the Hellenic Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). By Law No. 4557/208 the FIU is responsible for collecting all information that may be used by the authorities in prosecuting money laundering, terrorism and organised crime financing. Tax and bank privileges do not apply to information requested by the FIU taskforce, which may also request foreign authorities to disclose such information. All evidence gathered is then forwarded to the Prosecutor’s Office for further processing. Following the latest legislative amendments, the FIU is the agency responsible for monitoring, detecting and preventing money laundering and terrorism funding. It is also entitled to enforce decisions by the UN Security Council or other UN organs or EU regulation and decisions in respect to determination of individuals connected with terrorism or sanctions against such persons. The FIU has the power to suspend a transaction (if there is suspicion that it may be connected to illegal or criminal activity), to freeze for 15 days all accounts of a person or entity to clarify the transactions executed through these accounts or issue a freezing order of assets of a person or legal entity when there is sufficient indication that the beneficiary is involved in suspicious transactions in emergency cases.

Patterns in enforcement

Describe any recent shifts in the patterns of enforcement of the foreign bribery rules.

Enforcement authorities are investigating Greek companies’ activities abroad (using all available international instruments) with extensive use of mutual assistance procedures to gather evidence from other countries related to possible misconduct within Greek territory. They are also actively pursuing information exchange between authorities of more jurisdictions and processing this information to detect and identify possible misconduct.

Prosecution of foreign companies

In what circumstances can foreign companies be prosecuted for foreign bribery?

Foreign companies as such cannot be criminally prosecuted for foreign bribery. As already mentioned (see question 8), criminal liability lies with individuals, and all provisions in relation to companies deal with administrative measures and penalties, which require some type of business establishment in the country. Prosecution of individuals working with foreign companies may be sought in cases that have a link to Greek public officials (eg, a foreign company bribing Greek officials) or intermediaries- acting in Greece- that facilitated bribes to foreign or domestic public officials.

Sanctions

What are the sanctions for individuals and companies violating the foreign bribery rules?

The basic sanction for individuals with respect to passive bribery is imprisonment for a maximum of three years and a fine.

If the perpetrator committed such acts by profession (ie, acts committed repeatedly with a pattern), the act is punishable with imprisonment of three to five years and a fine.

If the act was committed contrary to the perpetrator ’s duties, there is provision for a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a fine. If such acts were committed by profession, the prison sentence can be up to 15 years and a fine.

As regards the act of active bribery, the basic sanction is imprisonment of up to three years and a fine. If the bribed official acted contrary to his or her duties the act is a felony punishable with imprisonment between five and eight years and a fine.

Assets that have been acquired or gained through bribery acts are seized according to article 238 of the GCC.

The authorities may impose to legal entities the following sanctions:

  • fines ranging from €50,000 to €10 million; fines are proportionate to the gains from the illegal act (at least twice the amount of the gains);
  • permanent suspension of business activities or temporary suspension of such for a time period of one month to two years;
  • prohibition of specific business activities (eg, share capital increase) for a time period of one month to two years; or
  • permanent or temporary ban (one month to two years) from public tenders or state funding.

Sanctions against legal entities are imposed following the rules of administrative procedure and may be appealed against before administrative courts.

Law No. 4412/2016, which entered into force in August 2016, integrated the EU Directive on public procurement, and repealing (2014/24/EU) and provides for the exclusion of legal entities from procurements and public tenders, among others, if individuals with power to represent the entity (managers, directors, etc) are convicted with a final judgment for acts of corruption.

The administration has the power to impose any or all of the above measures.

Recent decisions and investigations

Identify and summarise recent landmark decisions or investigations involving foreign bribery.

In the past year, a number of cases reached their conclusion following a trial. Most notable were the cases against individuals (Greek and foreign citizens) related to bribery acts initiated by Johnson & Johnson (DePuy) targeting doctors of public hospitals and Siemens targeting officials of the (then) state-owned company of national telecommunications.

Due to the fact that both cases involved many defendants and the charges were related to acts that spanned many years, a series of amendments to the law resulted (mainly) regarding convictions for money-laundering offences with bribery as a predicate offence.

Financial record-keeping and reporting

Laws and regulations

What legal rules require accurate corporate books and records, effective internal company controls, periodic financial statements or external auditing?

The Code of Registration of Tax Records, the Code of Taxation and the regulation on money laundering (new Law No.4557/2018) contain the relevant rules. Tax regulation and legislation were reformed in 2013 and 2014. Corporate books and records must be kept in a legally defined way. There are certain provisions about what may be regarded as a questionable transaction and that may be registered in the accounts. Financial statements are filed with the Revenue Service annually. Statements of value added tax are filed monthly (for large corporations). Internal auditors co-sign the annual financial statements, which are verified by an external auditor (who bears the responsibility for the accuracy of filed statements).

Continuous amendments of the relevant tax legislation aim at minimising deficiencies in accounting registration and improper registration of transactions. This is done by giving accountants responsibility for accurate registration of available documentation and tax information in respect of business transactions.

New legislation is currently under discussion on ways to simplify revenue procedures and intensify cross-checking of data from various sources (eg, bank accounts, expenditure and acquired assets).

Disclosure of violations or irregularities

To what extent must companies disclose violations of anti-bribery laws or associated accounting irregularities?

Anti-bribery laws do not explicitly demand disclosure of violations. In the context of money-laundering regulations, compliance and internal audit control, there are obligations to expose and report irregularities related to financial records or suspicious transactions. In this respect, individuals who are obliged by law to contribute to transparency and corporate ethics are faced with certain dilemmas when coming across a possible case of bribery. Leniency measures are meant to facilitate disclosure of violations or irregularities. Leniency measures apply in principle to individuals who expose corruption practices and relate to their status as defendants in criminal cases. Corporations may still be liable from a tax point of view; however, they are entitled to initiate procedures for amicable (tax) settlement, which can significantly reduce any fines imposed.

Prosecution under financial record-keeping legislation

Are such laws used to prosecute domestic or foreign bribery?

Financial records are used as means to prove the money trail that usually goes with a case of bribery. Discrepancies in financial records or payments without apparent reason may be used as first indications in tracing bribes. The search and cross-checking of transactions during a financial record audit may facilitate collection of evidence from other jurisdictions and disclosure of related assets. All this evidence may contribute to substantiating a case of bribery (domestic or foreign). If this is the case, the financial record case (tax offence) will be prosecuted in parallel with a criminal case of corruption.

Sanctions for accounting violations

What are the sanctions for violations of the accounting rules associated with the payment of bribes?

Bribes- if registered in a misleading way in financial records- would fall under the category of fictitious transactions (from a tax point of view) and money laundering (from a criminal law point of view). Sanctions for the tax violation (tax evasion) include fines and imprisonment of up to 15 years (for amounts over €100,000 regarding VAT or €150,000 for all other taxes). Furthermore, when the registered fictitious transactions exceed the amount of €200,000, the perpetrator is punished with imprisonment of up to six years.

Apart from the criminal sanctions against individuals, legal entities face a series of administrative penalties such as fines, asset freezing or vat or tax ID disabling.

Tax-deductibility of domestic or foreign bribes

Do your country’s tax laws prohibit the deductibility of domestic or foreign bribes?

Foreign bribes are prohibited transactions and, as such, cannot be registered in the books of a company. The registration of payments that do not refer to straightforward transactions in the company books could be perceived as the registration of fictitious transactions (ie, transactions that do not correspond- partly or completely- to a sincere and straightforward transaction and are criminally punishable). In addition, there are provisions for administrative fines (up to three times the value of the registered transactions) and the filing of criminal charges that may result in imprisonment.

Domestic bribery

Legal framework

Describe the individual elements of the law prohibiting bribery of a domestic public official.

Article 235 (passive bribery) describes as punishable the act of requesting or receiving, directly or indirectly through third persons in favour of oneself or others, of benefits of any nature or accepting a promise of such benefits to act or omit to act in the future or previously, with regard to public duties or contrary to these duties.

Article 236 (active bribery) describes as punishable the act of offering, promising or giving to a public official, directly or indirectly through third persons in favour of oneself or others, benefits of any nature in order (for the public official) to act or omit to act in the future or previously, with regard to public duties or contrary to these duties.

Article 237 of the GCC (bribery of a judge) describes the punishable act as a request or receipt of gifts or benefits, directly or indirectly through third persons in favour of oneself or others, of any nature or accepting a promise of such benefits to act or omit to act in the future or previously with regard to justice administration or dispute resolution.

Article 237A (trading in influence) describes as punishable the act of requesting or receiving, directly or indirectly through third persons in favour of oneself or others, benefits of any nature or accepting a promise of such benefits as an exchange for exerting improper influence over officials described in articles 159, 235 and 236 of the GCC.

Article 159 of the GCC (bribery of political officials) describes as punishable the act of requesting or receiving, directly or indirectly through third persons in favour of oneself or others, of benefits of any nature or accepting a promise of such benefits to act or omit to act in the future (or an act or omission to act in the past), with regard to public duties or contrary to these duties. This provision is applicable to the prime minister, members of the cabinet, deputy members of the cabinet, mayors, etc.

Scope of prohibitions

Does the law prohibit both the paying and receiving of a bribe?

Both passive and active bribery are prohibited by articles 235 and 236 of the GCC, respectively.

Definition of a domestic public official

How does your law define a domestic public official, and does that definition include employees of state-owned or state-controlled companies?

A public official, according to article 13(a) of the GCC, is the person to whom duties or service is granted (even temporarily) by the state, municipal or other state-controlled legal entities.

Gifts, travel and entertainment

Describe any restrictions on providing domestic officials with gifts, travel expenses, meals or entertainment. Do the restrictions apply to both the providing and the receiving of such benefits?

The wording of the relevant law is broad and may include any and all of the above, excluding symbolic gifts or gifts of courtesy. In professional fields, which require such expenses (eg, medical and pharma conferences), these expenses are usually heavily regulated and monitored. If these expenses cannot be justified then they may be considered inappropriate. Restrictions apply to all parties (providing and receiving).

Facilitating payments

Have the domestic bribery laws been enforced with respect to facilitating or ‘grease’ payments?

There has been an increase in efforts to detect facilitating or ‘grease’ payments using anti-bribery laws and the application of stricter taxation rules. Facilitating or grease payments are prohibited; their exposure is usually the result of cross-checking of tax, financial and other data related to such transactions.

Public official participation in commercial activities

What are the restrictions on a domestic public official participating in commercial activities while in office?

As a rule, public officials are not allowed to participate in commercial activities. There are a few exceptions to this general restriction depending on the position of the official, but public officials serving the state administration in the strictest sense are not allowed to conduct any commercialactivities.

Payments through intermediaries or third parties

In what circumstances do the laws prohibit payments through intermediaries or third parties to domestic public officials?

Public officials are not allowed to have other activities and, depending on their position or capacity, have obligations to report their financial and economic status. In this respect, payments through intermediaries or third parties would be questionable and suspicious, raising cause for further examination.

Individual and corporate liability

Can both individuals and companies be held liable for violating the domestic bribery rules?

Both can be held liable but it is a different type of liability. Individuals face criminal liability (they may be prosecuted, tried and sentenced), while entities face penalties and administrative measures, such as fines, bans from tenders or suspension of operations.

Private commercial bribery

To what extent does your country’s domestic anti-bribery law also prohibit private commercial bribery?

Article 396 of the GCC provides for punishment of bribery in private commercial and business activities. The basic elements of this type of bribery include benefits or promises to deliver benefits, or advantages to individuals working with companies in the private sector for violating the rules and obligations of their work.

Defences

What defences and exemptions are available to those accused of domestic bribery violations?

Under Greek law there are no pre-defined defences and exemptions. The Greek Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates the evidence a party (prosecuting authority or defence) may use to argue its case. In this respect the parties argue the case based on the evidence (which is shared by all parties) within the limits of the Greek Code of Criminal Procedure.

Agency enforcement

What government agencies enforce the domestic bribery laws and regulations?

In recent years all cases involving corruption (domestic or foreign bribery) are handled by the Prosecutor against Corruption (excluding bribery in the private sector). Jurisdiction on cases involving acts of bribery of foreign or domestic public officials is awarded to the Prosecutor against Corruption. There are other agencies that assist with gathering of evidence or disclosure of information (eg, the Financial Intelligence Unit, the Financial and Economic Crime Agency).

Patterns in enforcement

Describe any recent shifts in the patterns of enforcement of the domestic bribery rules.

There is consistent cooperation between the Prosecutor against Corruption, the FIU and the Prosecutor against Economic and Financial Crimes. In cases of suspected corruption acts it is quite common that all three authorities start independent inquiries in their field and pass necessary information or evidence to the Prosecutor against Corruption. Unless there is a complaint or report on corruption acts by an affected party, the majority of corruption-related cases open following a tax audit or FIU alert on suspicious transactions.

Prosecution of foreign companies

In what circumstances can foreign companies be prosecuted for domestic bribery?

Companies are not prosecuted because criminal liability lies with individuals and all provisions in relation to companies deal with administrative measures and penalties, which require some type of business establishment in Greece. In this respect, Greek authorities may not enforce penalties on foreign companies unless there are special provisions in bilateral or international agreements. Greek authorities have the power to impose sanctions against foreign companies that keep an establishment in Greece. Prosecution of individuals working with foreign companies may be sought in cases that have a link with Greek public officials (eg, a foreign company bribing Greek officials) or intermediaries - acting in Greece - that facilitated bribes to foreign or domestic public officials.

Sanctions

What are the sanctions for individuals and companies that violate the domestic bribery rules?

The basic sanction for individuals with respect to passive bribery is imprisonment for a maximum of three years and a fine.

If the perpetrator committed such acts by profession (ie, acts committed repeatedly with a pattern), the act is punishable with imprisonment of three to five years and a fine.

If the act was committed contrary to the perpetrator ’s duties, there is provision for a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a fine. If such acts were committed by profession, the prison sentence can be up to 15 years and a fine can also be imposed.

As regards the act of active bribery, the basic sanction is imprisonment of up to three years and a fine. If the bribed official acted contrary to his or her duties the act is a felony punishable with imprisonment of between five and eight years and a fine.

Assets that have been acquired or gained through bribery acts are seized according to article 238 of the GCC.

The authorities may impose on legal entities the following sanctions:

  • fines ranging from €50,000 to €10 million; fines are proportionate to the gains from the illegal act (at least twice the amount of the gains);
  • permanent suspension of business activities or temporary suspension of such for a time period of one month to two years;
  • prohibition of specific business activities (eg, share capital increase) for a time period of one month to two years; or
  • permanent or temporary ban (one month to two years) from public tenders or state funding.

Sanctions against legal entities are imposed following the rules of administrative procedure and may be appealed against before administrative courts.

Recent decisions and investigations

Identify and summarise recent landmark decisions and investigations involving domestic bribery laws, including any investigations or decisions involving foreign companies.

There is currently a large-scale investigation related to one of the largest pharmaceutical companies as regards the company’s conduct in relation to public officials or political persons. The prosecutors working on the case are also trying to include in the Greek proceedings evidence or information from foreign jurisdictions that conduct similar investigations.

Update and trends

Key developments of the past year

Please highlight any recent significant events or trends related to your national anti-corruption laws.

Key developments of the past year39 Please highlight any recent significant events or trends related to your national anti-corruption laws.

Through the latest amendments to the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure an effort was made to restructure provisions regarding bribery acts and integrate all related provisions (previously in special legislation) in a unified structure to include prosecution, plea bargaining, leniency and sanctions.