Probe launched into shady role of dealer Vavilis
A top Athens prosecutor yesterday ordered an immediate investigation into the role of Apostolos Vavilis, a convicted drug dealer on the Interpol wanted list, and his possible connection to the Church and State. Vavilis’s name came to prominence after allegations that Archbishop Christodoulos, the head of the Church of Greece, sent him to Jerusalem in 2001 to oversee the election of the Orthodox patriarch there. Christodoulos denied the claims but this has not prevented a string of allegations about Vavilis appearing in the media. Chief prosecutor Dimitris Papangelopoulos said the probe should focus on four key areas: how Vavilis apparently engaged in business deals with the State when there was a warrant out for his arrest; how he was issued a fake identification card under the name Apostolos Pavlos Fokas; how he managed to leave the country for Jerusalem; and on what authority he was in Israel. Authorities are also thought to be conducting an unofficial investigation into the possibility that Vavilis, who was first arrested in 1988 for drug dealing, was spying on Greece. An internal police probe has already uncovered that, for a man who has been wanted by Interpol since 1998, Vavilis led a seemingly charmed life. In September 2001, Greek authorities discovered that Vavilis was in Jerusalem and had reportedly been trying to influence the outcome of the election for Orthodox patriarch. Officers at the Greek branch of Interpol contacted their Israeli counterparts and requested his arrest and extradition, providing them with the name of the hotel where he was staying. The Israelis replied almost immediately that someone called Pavlos had been staying at the hotel in question claiming to be an Orthodox worshipper but that no more information was available. However, television footage, as well as depositions Vavilis gave to Israeli authorities, suggest that he was in the country at that time. It has also emerged that in 1994, Italian authorities had asked for Vavilis to be arrested after a Venice court found him guilty, in absentia, of drug dealing. The request was relayed by Interpol to the prosecutor in Volos, where he was first convicted in 1988, but an arrest warrant was never issued. It was not until 1998 that a warrant was put out by Interpol. It appears that Vavilis then obtained a fake ID card and left the country. However, from 1995-97, Vavilis acted as a representative for companies selling security equipment to the Public Order Ministry. He also ran a gun shop a few meters away from police headquarters in central Athens. Meanwhile, a priest from a Mount Athos monastery yesterday claimed that Christodoulos sent Vavilis there for spiritual guidance in 1998. Although Christodoulos has denied links to Vavilis and said he is determined to rid the Church of corruption, according to a poll released by VPRC yesterday, his popularity has been severely dented. Some 47 percent of people questioned said they had a negative image of the archbishop – a 25 percent drop from last May.
