Ilias Anagnostopoulos

Practice Areas

Ilias Anagnostopoulos heads the Athens-based law firm Anagnostopoulos focusing on criminal and regulatory risk management and all aspects of business crime defence.

He has appeared as lead counsel in most significant cases in Greece during the past 35 years, including business and financial fraud, procurement fraud, EU Fraud, healthcare fraud, insider dealing, tax and customs fraud, money laundering, asset recovery, anti-competitive practices, corrupt practices, criminal corporate liability, sanctions enforcement, anti-terrorism, product criminal liability, environmental offences, health and safety offences, medical malpractice, art crimes, mutual assistance, extradition and surrender procedures.

He is regularly instructed to advise and represent leading corporates from the energy, defence, aviation, shipping, automotive, construction, financial services, insurance, raw materials, pharmaceuticals, food, health care, tobacco, telecommunications, information technology, travel and leisure, and media sectors, as well as foreign governments and governmental or public organisations.

Ilias is a regular commentator on case law and offers expert opinions in domestic and cross-border proceedings.

Career

Ilias chairs the Hellenic Criminal Bar Association (2013-), a nationwide organisation of criminal practitioners. From 2006 to 2013 he chaired the Criminal Law Committee of the Council of the Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE). He was a member of the Law Commission on the new Greek Criminal Code (2015-2019), which entered into force in July 2019.

Ilias received his education at the School of Law, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (LLB,1978), and J.W. Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main, Germany (Dr. juris, 1982), with a dissertation on pre-trial detention.

He is a Professor Emeritus of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure, School of Law, National University of Athens.

Ilias assumed his academic career at the same School of Law as a Lecturer (1989) and continued as an Assistant Professor (1996), Associate Professor (2009), and Professor (2018).

Professional Memberships

Hellenic Criminal Bar Association (Chair, 2013-); Hellenic Ministry of Justice Experts Committee (2015-2020); High-Legal Council, Bank of Greece (2014-); European Criminal Bar Association (founder member); International Academy of Financial Crime Litigators (fellow); Cambridge Global Forum on Corporate Criminal Liability (Steering Committee); European Criminal Law Academic Network; European Law Institute; International Bar Association; American Bar Association (associate); National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (international); International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law; World Justice Project.

Publications

Ilias has published extensively in Greek, English, and German on matters of criminal law, criminal procedure, European criminal law, criminal justice policy, and fundamental rights.

Some of his publications are:

“Criminal Law in Greece” (with Konstantinos Magliveras), Wolters Kluwer, The Hague/London/Boston, 2nd ed., 2023, 282 pp; "Proportionality issues in European arrest warrant proceedings: Three stories from the field, in: Em. Billis et al, 'The Principle of Proportionality in Crime Control and Criminal Justice', Hart Publishing, 2021, p. 337-358; "One Act, Multiple Prosecutions Unlimited Sanctions?” American Bar Association, 31st National Institute on White Collar Crime, 2017, U11-15; “The right of access to a lawyer in Europe: A long road ahead?”, European Criminal Law Review 2014, p. 3-18; “Criminal justice cooperation in the European Union after the first few ‘steps’: A defence view”, ERA Forum 2014, p. 9-24; “Untersuchungshaft und Verfahrensbeschleunigung: Das Beispiel Griechenlands”, StrafverteidigerForum 2013, p. 453-457; “Contra Socratem”, Onasis Foundation, Athens 25.5.2012, (watch Socrates’ re-trial at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPN7EVtvAto); “Ne bis in idem in der Europäischen Union: Offene Fragen”, Festschrift für Winfried Hassemer, C.F. Müller Verlag, Heidelberg, 2010, p. 1121-1140; for other publications, see https://iag.gr/publications-by-iag-law-firm/

Personal

Ilias lives in Athens with his wife, Persa Lampropoulou, and their sons, Kimon (23 and Aris (22), who are University students.

Languages Spoken

Greek

English

German

French

Clients

Deutsche Bank

Kering SA

Stellantis Group

Metlen Energy & Metals

Ferrero SpA

TicketOne SpA

Sterner Stenhus AB

OPAP /Allwyn

Antenna Group

Novartis Hellas

Mondelez Hellas

Hellas Gold

Grivalia Hospitality

Arcadia Shipmanagement Co Ltd

Adidas Hellas

Work Highlights

-Advising and representing Novartis Hellas in criminal and regulatory proceedings on alleged bribery and anticompetitive practices in relation to public hospitals (with partner Alexandros Tsagkalidis)

-Successfully represented a former Julius Baer banker on charges of bribery and money laundering in connection with the purchase of military helicopters by the Hellenic Army (with partner Ioannis Tsakalis)

-Successfully represented Natura SA on charges of subsidies fraud and false accounting in connection with the construction of a lake resort in central Greece (with partner Gerasimoula Zapanti)

- Successfully represented a former CEO of Hellas Gold on charges of environmental offences in relation to the company's mining activities (with senior associate Garyfallia Gianni)

-Advising and representing a prominent media publisher and producer in relation to fraud, money laundering, and false accounting charges (with senior associate Alexandros Mezari)

-Successfully represented a US citizen in extradition proceedings following a request by the Kingdom of Bahrain to serve a custodial sentence for embezzlement (with partner Alexandros Tsagkalidis)

-Advising and representing two Greek companies in an EU-wide investigation conducted by the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) on allegations of large-scale VAT fraud in relation to the sale of popular electronic goods (with associate Constantina Akrida).

Education

Awards