Greece will introduce a nationwide digital registry to monitor corruption cases from the opening of an investigation through to a final court ruling, in a move aimed at strengthening oversight of high-profile criminal proceedings and improving transparency in the justice system.
Under a joint ministerial decision published in the Government Gazette, the Unified Digital Registry for Monitoring Corruption Cases will become operational on January 1, 2027. The platform is intended to provide a centralized record of corruption-related prosecutions, produce real-time statistical data and help authorities assess the efficiency of the country's criminal justice system.
The registry will track each case from the initial investigative stage until its final, irrevocable resolution. The Ministry of Justice will oversee the system, while the General Secretariat for Information Systems and Digital Governance will be responsible for developing and maintaining the platform.
The system will rely on mandatory reporting by all key institutions involved in corruption investigations and prosecutions, including Parliament, courts, prosecutors' offices, the National Transparency Authority, Greece's Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), police services and the Internal Affairs Service of the security forces. Authorities will be required to update the registry within five working days of any procedural development, while all pending corruption cases must be entered into the database within two months of its launch.
Each case will receive a unique identification number and will be recorded in anonymized form in accordance with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The platform will also maintain a complete electronic audit trail of user activity. Information will remain on the system for ten years after a case reaches a final judgment before being automatically deleted.
The registry is designed to generate real-time data on the number and type of corruption cases, the length of proceedings, procedural milestones and the penalties imposed. The government says the information will provide a more accurate basis for evaluating the performance of Greece's anti-corruption framework and judicial system.
The scope of the registry extends beyond traditional bribery offences. It will include cases involving the bribery of politicians, public officials and judges, influence peddling, abuse of office and corruption in the private sector. It will also cover offences such as embezzlement, fraud, forgery, false certification, subsidy fraud and breach of trust when they are committed against the Greek state or the European Union's financial interests by public officials or political officeholders.
The database will also record money laundering linked to corruption offences, cross-border VAT fraud, crimes affecting the EU's financial interests, bribery intended to manipulate sporting events and smuggling offences committed by public officials. The legislation further allows additional offences to be included where they involve public officials or political figures, target public or EU finances, seek unlawful financial gain or inflict economic damage, and carry a minimum custodial sentence of more than three months.
