A person commits fraud under Art. 386 of the Greek Criminal Code who, with intent to obtain an unlawful pecuniary advantage for themselves or a third party, damages the property of another by knowingly misrepresenting false facts, or by distorting or suppressing true facts, thereby inducing or maintaining an error.
Sentencing range: imprisonment of at least three months; where the damage caused is particularly high, the minimum sentence is two years. Where the offender acts on a commercial or habitual basis and the combined advantage or damage exceeds €30,000, or where the pecuniary advantage or damage in total exceeds €120,000, the sentencing range increases to penal servitude (kathirxi) of up to ten years.
Since the 2019 criminal law reform, a stand-alone provision (Art. 386B of the Criminal Code) has separately covered subsidy fraud – that is, the intentional provision of incorrect or incomplete information to the authority responsible for granting a subsidy. It implements EU Directive 2017/1371 on the protection of the Union’s financial interests through criminal law, and provides for a stricter penalty in its basic form than the general fraud offence.
Forms of fraud frequently encountered in practice include credit fraud, computer fraud (Art. 386A of the Criminal Code), insurance fraud, fraud against the Greek state, subsidy fraud, and cheque fraud.
FAQ
A person commits fraud who, with intent to obtain an unlawful pecuniary advantage for themselves or a third party, damages the property of another by misrepresenting false facts, or by distorting or suppressing true facts, thereby inducing or maintaining an error.
The basic form of fraud is punished with imprisonment (fylakisi, generally up to 5 years).
Where the damage caused is particularly high, the penalty increases to at least 3 months' imprisonment plus a fine.
Where the total damage caused exceeds €120,000, the sentencing range is penal servitude (kathirxi) of up to 10 years plus a fine.
Where the fraud is directed immediately against the Greek state, legal entities governed by public law, or bodies of municipal self-government, and the total damage exceeds €120,000, the law provides for a minimum sentence of 10 years' penal servitude together with a fine of up to 1,000 daily units. In this case, the offence becomes time-barred only after 20 years.
Frequently encountered cases of fraud include credit fraud, computer fraud (today governed as a separate offence under Art. 386A of the Criminal Code), insurance fraud, fraud against the Greek state, subsidy fraud (Art. 386B of the Criminal Code), and cheque fraud.
As of June 2026. All information on these pages is provided without guarantee or liability.