Four people arrested in north Cyprus for operating a university without permission from YÖDAK

Four people were on Friday arrested by Turkish Cypriot police for allegedly operating a university in Lefkosia without obtaining permit from the appropriate authority.

The suspects named only as BK, 44, NE, 53, US, 39 and MIB, 45 were identified and arrested in an ongoing investigation into a college located in Lefkosia operating without permission from YÖDAK, which is believed to be linked to a large criminal network.

According to police statement, it was determined that between 2023 and March 7, 2024, a university operating in Lefkcosia was opened and operated without permission from the Higher Education Planning, Supervision, Accreditation and Coordination Board (YÖDAK).

The shareholder and secretary of the institution called Cyprus Massachusetts Center Of Innovation, BK, accountant, NE, manager, US and deputy manager, MIB, who were arrested together within the scope of a multifaceted investigation, were brought to court on Friday by the Higher Education Planning Supervision Accreditation and Coordination Board (YÖDAK) on charges of "opening and running a higher education institution" without permission, "issuing a fake document", "putting a fake document into use", "obtaining records by fraudulent behavior" and "obtaining money by fraud".

In court, police explained that the Pakistani national arrested for having received €10,000 in exchange for creating a forged student visa was registered as a “student” at the college, despite never having completed high school.

He added that he had obtained a forged high school diploma from a non-existent school named “The Mardan Model & Collage [sic.] Mardan”, which had been created by another man.

With this information and as a result of further investigation, police determined that the other man was also working as an agent for the college, forging documents and registering students.

Police said that “many files belonging to foreign students” had been identified and seized as evidence when police searched the college on Thursday.

He added that the college’s operations had been approved by the north Cyprus’s ‘education ministry’, but that it operated entirely outside the competence of the north’s higher education accreditation authority (Yodak).

The school’s students, however, were able to register with the north’s central higher education registration system (Yokas) and were thus able to obtain visas.

In addition, police said they had seized the mobile phones and computers of the four people arrested, and that the company’s director had been determined to be abroad.

He added that a total of eight third country nationals employed as teachers at the college were also wanted as part of the police’s investigation into the matter.

He also said investigations would be carried out to determine the whereabouts of those registered as students at the college. News website Haber Kibris said on Thursday the whereabouts of a total of 6,000 registered students at colleges in the north were unknown.

The four arrested on Friday and the Pakistani national were all remanded in custody for three further days.