Three-member Court of Appeals of Thessaloniki 684/2019
Perpetual bonds, in their conception and operation, are not simply investment products. As a result, the limited liability companies that provide investment services have a particularly increased obligation to provide information to their investor clients, given that the use and circulation of perpetual bonds as bonds, as a bond loan, gives a false, virtual image which might potentially mislead anyone, even investors with deep knowledge, as to the legal nature and operation of the said bonds. Tort (based on the relationship between agent and principal) liability of the respondent-appellant banking company SA. Its liability is causally connected to the subsequent damage to the property of the respondents – appellants, because, as it was proved, this was caused because the investment was attempted without having provided to the latter any necessary prior information, so as for them to comprehend the form and content and to decide for themselves whether they will select the suggested placement of their capital, therefore assuming, through their relevant choice, all the risks associated with the said choice, given that they themselves sought to take the minimum possible risk and ensure the possibility of immediately liquidating their capital. As a consequence of this insufficient information about the risks involved, on the part of the contracting party related to the respondent-appellant, the respondents-appellants suffered damage.