The court session for the former Commissioner for Volunteerism, Yiannakis Yiannaki, began today with an admission to key charges, including the forgery of his degree and high school diploma. Yiannaki appeared with his lawyer, Petros Stavrou, and made an initial admission of several charges.
Charge 2: Circulation of a forged degree from Santiago University within the Youth Organisation.
Charge 6: Circulation of a forged high school diploma.
Charge 8: Circulation of a forged degree bearing stamps from the Ministry of Education and the United States.
Today’s court session also marked the beginning of the main examination of witness police constable Stephanos Apeitos, from the Cybercrime Subdivision. Apeitos submitted reports as evidence related to the Yiannaki case.
During the session, a video was shown from the event “50 years – A meeting of ideas on Education and Culture”, where Yiannaki, as a speaker, made references to active citizenship and democracy, citing Aristotle and Thucydides.
In the 7-minute video (which is also available online), there were references to investing in youth. Yiannaki is heard saying: “Young people must be educated.” He adds: “I studied civil engineering with a focus on political science.”
A forensic search of Yiannaki’s computer hard drive was conducted using specific keywords.
According to witness Apeitos, a search was performed on Yiannaki’s Google search history, revealing queries related to Santiago University. A total of 83 online visits to the university’s website were recorded in 2021.
As stated by the prosecution, Santiago University offered the option to order your academic transcripts.
