Counterparty due diligence

Counterparty due diligence in Greece: who you are dealing with, checked before you sign.

Before a company signs a supply, distribution or service contract, gives credit, enters a joint venture or pays a deposit to a Greek counterparty, L+A checks the company and the people behind it.

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We search the public registers and the courts, read what the company has filed, ask the counterparty for what is not public, and deliver a written report of the red flags and the contract protections they call for. The firm works from Piraeus and Athens, in English and Greek.

In short

We find out who the counterparty is, who controls it, whether it can pay and perform, and what could stop the deal, and we put it in writing before you commit.

Most of what a Greek company is can be read from official records: its registration and filings in the General Commercial Registry (ΓΕΜΗ), its published financial statements, the insolvency register, the courts, the register of disqualified directors and the state's records of public decisions and contracts. What is not public, such as tax and social security clearance, we request from the counterparty, together with the beneficial ownership details, and check against the records.

We act for Greek and foreign companies, investors and their advisers. A foreign company entering the Greek market usually needs this check for its first distributor, supplier, landlord or local partner.

What we check

Scope and fee are agreed in writing before work starts. A standard check covers:

01
Identity and registration: the company's ΓΕΜΗ record (legal form, registered office, object, capital, date of formation) and its VAT number in the EU VIES system.
02
Representation and control: who may sign for the company and bind it, the board or managers on record, the shareholders where the record shows them, and the beneficial ownership details, requested from the counterparty and compared with the corporate records.
03
Financial position: the financial statements filed in ΓΕΜΗ for the last years, read for revenue, equity, debt and the auditor's report where one exists, and whether the filings are up to date.
04
Insolvency: the Electronic Insolvency Register, whose data are public under Law 4738/2020 (article 213), for bankruptcy or restructuring proceedings, and the competent court of first instance for certificates of no bankruptcy and no bankruptcy petition.
05
Litigation: lawsuits and enforcement involving the company where they can be traced through the courts, and requests to the counterparty for a declaration of pending cases.
06
Directors: whether the people who run the company are entered in the Register of Disqualified Directors (articles 56α and 56γ of Law 4919/2022), from which private persons with a reasonable interest may now obtain information.
07
Sanctions and exposure: the persons and the company against the EU financial sanctions lists, and the people behind the company for public exposure.
08
Public money: decisions in Diavgeia and public contracts in ΚΗΜΔΗΣ, where the counterparty works with the state or relies on public funding.
09
Clearances: current tax and social security clearance certificates, which are issued to the company on its own application, requested from the counterparty before signing or payment.
10
Press and record history: earlier names, transformations and adverse press coverage of the company and its owners.

What you receive

A written report in English or Greek. It opens with the conclusion and the red flags in order of importance, each with the document or record it rests on, then sets out the findings by area and lists what is still missing.

Each red flag comes with what to do about it: a document to ask for, a condition to put in the contract, a guarantee or security, a payment structure, or a reason not to proceed. Where the deal goes ahead, we can draft or review the contract so that the warranties, conditions and security reflect what the check found.

When to run the check

The check is most useful before the first payment or signature. The usual occasions are:

a new distributor, agent, supplier or subcontractor in Greece;
credit terms, an advance payment or a deposit to a Greek company;
a joint venture, a new partner or an investment in a Greek company;
a lease of commercial property or a hotel operation agreement;
the purchase of a company or of its assets, as the first stage of a full legal due diligence;
a debtor who has stopped paying, to see what can be recovered and from whom.

How the engagement works

You send us the counterparty's name or ΓΕΜΗ number or tax number (ΑΦΜ), and what the deal is. We confirm the scope and the fee in writing, run the public checks, send the counterparty's document requests through you or directly where you prefer, and deliver the report. For a company that deals with many counterparties, the check can run under the firm's retainer, with each new counterparty checked as it comes in.

The report states what was checked, on which date and in which record. A record speaks only for the date it was searched; for a long relationship we repeat the check at agreed intervals.

Reviewed

This page was reviewed on 11 November 2026 against article 213 of Law 4738/2020 and articles 56α to 56ζ of Law 4919/2022 as amended by Law 5338/2026. It is general information, not legal advice.

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The Register of Disqualified Directors

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Selling or buying a company

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Commercial contracts

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Securing debts

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Doing business in Greece from abroad

FAQ

Questions clients ask

What is counterparty due diligence?

A check of a company and the people behind it before you sign, pay or give credit: its registration, who controls it, its financial position, insolvency and court records, its directors, sanctions and public contracts, with a written report of the red flags.

Which Greek records can be searched?

Among others, the General Commercial Registry (ΓΕΜΗ) and the financial statements filed there, the Electronic Insolvency Register, the courts, the Register of Disqualified Directors, Diavgeia, ΚΗΜΔΗΣ and the EU VIES system. Tax and social security clearance is requested from the counterparty.

Can a foreign company use the service in English?

Yes. The firm works in English and Greek, and the report can be delivered in either language.

Is this the same as full legal due diligence for an acquisition?

No. It is the first stage. A full due diligence also reviews the target's contracts, employment, licences, property and compliance; we do that work as part of a purchase.

How is the fee agreed?

Scope and fee are agreed in writing before work starts.

How we work

A partner leads every matter, with an associate on the day-to-day work.
Write to us with the facts and any documents. We reply by email within one working day.
We work in Greek and English; German on request.
For the part of a matter abroad, we work with correspondent firms, each under its own professional rules.

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