Ethn. Transparency Principle: OECD Positive Assessment for Greece in Combating Bribery of Foreign Officials

Published today, March 22, 2022, the evaluation report of Greece by the OECD on the implementation of the Convention for the Suppression of Corruption of Foreign Officials in International Business Transactions. The text of the report recognizes the efforts that our country has made in recent years at the institutional and organizational level for the most effective detection and prosecution of the crime of bribery of foreign public officials.

In this context, the establishment of the National Transparency Authority is recognized as an important development in the right direction. More specifically, the actions implemented by the Authority for the training of the competent auditing and prosecuting bodies as well as the actions for raising the awareness of public and private organizations on the issues of combating the corruption of foreign public officials in international business transactions as well as international business transactions are positively evaluated. . In addition, special reference is made to the added value of the establishment and operation of the National Coordinating Audit and Accountability Body that operates in the EAD. In addition, the National Risk Assessment for Combating Money Laundering is seen as an important policy tool. The possibility of freezing or confiscating assets in the context of the provision of Mutual Legal Assistance is also welcomed. Particular emphasis is placed on the National Strategic Plan to Combat Corruption 2022-2025, which includes actions aimed at this crime, the implementation of which is expected to make a decisive contribution to the national effort to tackle corruption. Finally, the importance of the cooperation of E.A.D. is recognized. with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the contribution of the country’s diplomatic authorities in the efforts to detect the crime.

The report makes recommendations and identifies areas for improvement, such as the independent recognition of the criminal responsibility of legal persons, the more effective detection of cases of bribery of foreign public officials, as well as the taking of measures to protect persons who reveal relevant violations. The report notes that the merger of the Corruption Prosecutor’s Office with the Financial Crime Prosecutor’s Office in order to address the overlapping responsibilities and resources, the use of synergies and the accumulation of know-how, will be monitored to ensure the effective investigation of the case. . The implementation of the report’s recommendations will be monitored by the Agency over the next two years through the submission of written reports.

The E.A.D. participated and coordinated the overall evaluation process of our country by the O.O.S.A. gathering and sending a multitude of data. The Authority organized and hosted the work of the on-site visit of the team of evaluators of the O.O.S.A. consisting of Secretariat officials of the Agency, as well as four evaluators, prosecutors and senior public officials, from Korea and Lithuania. The team of evaluators had the opportunity to talk to more than 80 representatives of public and private sector bodies. The proceedings were attended by prosecutors and court officials, members of the Greek Parliament, civil servants, executives of private companies and public organizations, representatives of professional associations, chambers, banks, auditing companies, members of the academic community, lawyers, certified public accountants, citizens and the media.