Fraudulent bankruptcy and insolvency offences in Greece
22 May 2020
Bankruptcy offenses are offences related to bankruptcy proceedings initiated against a natural or legal person. When a company (or a natural person) fails to meet its obligations, it is deemed unable to pay and therefore, insolvent. Moreover, companies with share capital may become insolvent in case of excessive indebtedness, i.e. when the registered share capital is no longer in place or the company’s liabilities exceed its assets.
Pursuant to Law No 3588/2007, eight (8) cases of insolvency offenses are provided as follows:
- Disappearance of assets that in case of insolvency fall within the insolvency estate (e.g. concealment of goods in an unknown location)
- Conduction of harmful transactions (e.g. fictitious or fraudulent real estate transfer to relatives of the debtor)
- Acquisition of goods on credit and their subsequent selling at prices substantially below their value
- Recognition of non-existent rights of third parties
- Failure to keep mandatory accounting books
- Disappearance, concealment or destruction of accounting books
- Failure to legally draft balances or inventory
- Reduction of the debtor’s assets in another way (e.g. parental donation of real estate) or concealment of his/her actual contractual relationships.