Former TRNC Ministry official arrested in fake diploma investigation

A former TRNC ministry official, Muhittin Özsağlam, has been arrested on charges of “Forgery of documents” and “Putting forged documents into use”.

Muhittin Özsağlam who appeared at court today was once Private Secretary to the former Minster of Labour and Social Security, Faiz Sucuoğlu.

An investigation conducted by the Financial Crimes Unit of the Police General Directorate at the Cyprus Health and Social Sciences University in Güzelyurt led to Özsağlam’s arrest the previous evening.

Giving evidence in court, the investigating police officer stated that the suspect had enrolled in the Psychology Department of the Cyprus Health and Social Sciences University and was found to have graduated on the same day.

On February 26, following a complaint made by the Cyprus Health and Social Sciences University, an investigation was initiated, revealing that the suspect Özsağlam had incited Serdal Gündüz, and other minor shareholders to forge documents.

The police, in their examination of the university’s system, told  the court that Özsağlam had enrolled in the Psychology department on September 9, 2022, and within a few minutes, it was determined that he had passed a total of 61 courses taken over four years and graduated on the same date.

The police said that the suspect had sent the diploma to the Personnel Department to request a salary increase. The officer stated that the investigation on this matter is ongoing, and the amount of illicit income obtained has not yet been determined.

The police mentioned that when questioned about the diploma, the suspect explained that he had completed his associate degree through distance education, so he was exempt from some courses and did not attend 10% of the classes. He claimed to have graduated by completing assignments given by Serdar Gündüz.

The police requested the suspect to be held in custody for two days, and the court approved the request.

Yeniduzen