An interim decision was announced today during the first hearing of the investigation into the Cyprus Health and Social Sciences University (KSTU)*. The university’s general secretary and shareholder, Serdal Gündüz, along with the head of the international office, Amir Shakerifard, are being tried, Kibris Postasi reports.
The defendants are charged with several offences, including obtaining money through fraud, fraud, issuing and using forged documents, fraud in accounts, money laundering, and instigating a forged bank payment order. In total, they face 130 charges.
The court has ordered the case to be sent to the Nicosia High Criminal Court, which will meet on October 14.
In the first hearing, a total of 11 witnesses were heard. The 11th witness, Police Officer Ortunç Özbaylı from the Financial Crimes Department, presented 32 pieces of evidence to the court.
Judge Gülay Süleymanoğlu Uğur of the Güzelyurt District Court noted that 130 cases have been brought against the defendants, with 11 witnesses heard and 32 pieces of evidence presented.
Additionally, the trial process for Serdal Gündüz continues in the Nicosia High Criminal Court due to another case involving his assistant, Berk Özbek.
*In a broader context, the KSTU scandal is part of a wider crisis in Turkish Cypriot universities, marked by allegations of rampant corruption and the issuance of fake diplomas. This situation has drawn attention to the unregulated growth of higher education institutions in the region. Notably, the former education minister, Kemal Dürüst, has been arrested in connection with the KSTU investigation, alongside the head of the regulatory body overseeing universities, YÖDAK, who is under suspicion for accepting bribes.
As these legal proceedings unfold, concerns about the oversight and regulation of universities in North Cyprus have intensified, with calls for independent audits and potential closures of substandard institutions to prevent further corruption. [LGC News Ed.]