Is it really that easy for someone to declare they fancy a position, be believed, and climb as high as they want? Or does success require the certainty of having powerful backing?
Is self-confidence alone enough to fool everyone, or does one need support from various power players to advance so effortlessly while seeking even more?
In other words, is it that simple for someone to emerge from nowhere, anoint themselves to whatever position they desire, and cash in handsomely on their supposed expertise?
We posed these questions in June ’22 regarding the Yiannakis Yiannakis case. And we continue to have the same questions. Plus one more: Can any defendant change lawyers like changing shirts, constantly postponing their trial until the new lawyer gets up to speed? How long can this farce continue?
The former Commissioner for Volunteerism and high-ranking official of the Youth Organisation faces eight charges related to forging a secondary school leaving certificate, forging an American university degree, and fabricating an employer’s reference letter.
The case came to light in May 2021, and here we are in February 2025, with the case still untried while the defendant continues to receive part of his state salary. As mentioned in Parliament, he has collected around €75,000 during the intervening years.
At one point, there was a suggestion to bring charges for obtaining money by false pretences and money laundering, but the Deputy Attorney General ruled that such charges wouldn’t stand because the man was working, and the money he earned, even with forged documents, was his wages.
By classifying it as earned income, he gave the defendant license to continue taking the public for a ride.
So, having managed to secure a public position by turning a Twelve in Mathematics into a 17, a Thirteen in Physics-Chemistry into a 19, a Ten in Economics into a 17, and so on, and then being appointed Commissioner with a degree never issued by the university, why shouldn’t he continue as he knows best?
One day it’s the media’s fault for covering the case, the next it’s MP Christos Christofides’ fault for persistently bringing up the matter, then he tries to latch onto the dismissal of Odysseas Michaelides who had discovered the forged documents, and then begin the lawyers’ resignations.
But he’s not the only one at fault. Those who pretended not to notice that twelve doesn’t equal 17 are also culpable. Those who continue to pay him to fool us are equally to blame.