Ilias Anagnostopoulos

Anagnostopoulos

Athens www.iag.gr

ianagnostopoulos@iag.gr Tel: +30 2107292010

Biography

Ilias has represented corporates and individuals across multiple jurisdictions over the past 30 years. He focuses on complex matters involving financial crimes, corrupt and anticompetitive practices, tax and money laundering offences, extradition and mutual assistance requests. He is chair of the Hellenic Criminal Bar Association (2013–) and former chair of the of the CCBE criminal law committee (2006–2013). He is a professor of criminal law and procedure at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and a member of the Ministry of Justice experts committee and the High-Legal Council with the Bank of Greece.

What do you enjoy most about practising business crime defence?

I started focusing on business crime at a time when the practice area was not mainstream for criminal practitioners. I was attracted by the complex nature and cross-border aspects of these cases, which call for a multifaceted and highly sophisticated defence strategy. Business crime defence is a demanding area for practitioners who would like to excel in a continuously changing environment.

What are the main tools of an asset recovery practice in Greece?

Asset recovery is a complex art that requires many skills, first and foremost the ability to timely locate the (often meticulously hidden) assets to be recovered. Speedy action is needed in order to secure the assets combined with a realistic strategy including the necessary initiatives in court. As cross-jurisdictional elements are the norm in asset recovery proceedings, being able to mobilise an efficient global network of lawyers and other experts is of the essence.

What has been your most interesting case to date, and why?

Looking back on my 30 years in criminal practice, I am proud of defending corporates and individuals and protecting their reputation against unfair or excessive allegations; and it gives me great pleasure to see how grateful they are for helping them navigate through troubled waters. If I were to single out one of our causes célèbres in recent years, I would mention the acquittal of a prominent businessman, who leads an international group, on charges of bribery and money laundering in a highly publicised multi-month trial. A criminal conviction would have devastating consequences for the whole group. Based on hard work and innovative legal thinking, we were able to persuade the court to resolve in our client’s favour a series of complex legal issues.

What new types of fraud are you seeing emerge and develop during the coronavirus pandemic? How are you ensuring that you and your clients are well equipped to tackle them?

The coronavirus pandemic has deeply impacted the economy and most aspects of our everyday life. It has also opened new doors to fraudsters. The disruption and confusion caused by the pandemic allows cyber criminals, who have always been creative opportunists, to scurry through the cracks of security systems that had been designed in a different environment. Practitioners in the business crime area are called to understand the new realities and respond to emerging needs of their clients. Competence, flexibility, strategic thinking, creativity and talent will be in high demand in order to tackle the new challenges.

To what extent is the increasingly virtual nature of investigations in a covid-19 landscape making for a more efficient process? In what ways is it falling short?

The increasingly virtual nature of investigations and related procedures in a covid-19 defined landscape has given new opportunities to the enforcement agencies and to a lesser extent to affected corporates or individuals. At the same time the virtual wave entails new risks that, if left uncontrolled, may undermine core values of our liberal societies. Virtual proceedings are no substitute for face-to-face questioning and trial hearings. Confrontation of witnesses, opening statements or closing arguments cannot be properly delivered remotely. Nothing can replace the courtroom drama where physically present actors clash their swords in a noble fight for the truth.

How does Anagnostopoulos stand out from its competitors?

The combination of timely and sophisticated advice with forceful litigation is the hallmark of our practice. We offer our clients carefully designed solutions that include all necessary synergies to achieve the best outcome in each case; and when it comes to litigation, our firm’s dynamic pool of trial lawyers commands respect in the courtroom and has an impeccable track record in complex cases with crossjurisdictional elements. As opposed to traditional criminal practitioners and/or larger general practice firms, we have built a reputation as a high-end specialists’ firm who are best placed to manage criminal and regulatory risks and offer innovative and practical solutions in a complex and risk-inflated industry.

In what ways is technological innovation revolutionising the practice area?

Technological innovation is rapidly changing the environment of our practice area. In particular, e-evidence has become a pillar of criminal, regulatory and alternative proceedings around the world. One of our priorities is to use cutting-edge technology to ensure high-value services to our clients.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Never give up, keep on fighting to win even when everyone else is losing hope.

Peers and clients say: “Definitely the go-to name in Greece for complex corporate investigations” “A true authority on white-collar crime proceedings in Greece”