Passport Privilege: Turkish Fraudster’s Route to Honorary Greek Citizenship

The Greek public had to wait for investigative outlet 'inside story' to break the news on July 7, triggering fierce debate over Ayavefe's suitability for such an honour. For Ayavefe is no musicologist or historian, and certainly no wizard on the basketball court.

Yasam Ayavefe

He is a businessman who already holds three citizenships, who was convicted by a Turkish court in 2017 of defrauding online gamblers, and who was arrested in Greece in 2019 trying to cross the border into Bulgaria on a false passport.

Somehow, Ayavefe overcame the odds to win Greek protection from the long arm of Turkish law, and in doing so effectively turned a state honour long reserved for those who have made significant contribution to the promotion of Greek culture into a 'Golden Visa' scheme for those with deep pockets.

Yasam Ayavefe's honorary citizenship was published on June 22 in the Greek government's official gazette.

Wanted in Turkey, protected in Greece

Ayavefe, 39, has a range of business interests - from tourism and gambling in the Turkish-populated breakaway republic of northern Cyprus, to a venture capital firm in the UK and investments in blockchain.

But it was his gift of medical equipment to Greece during the COVID-19 pandemic and his real estate investments in the country that were cited by the government as grounds for granting him honorary citizenship, signed by President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and Interior Minister Voridis.

His case signals a change in practice under the current conservative government, said Nikos Odubitan, the managing director at Generation 2.0, a non-profit working on migrants' rights.

"We have noticed an increase in honorary citizenships in the last...