Published on
22/05/2026 - 11:26 GMT+2
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed a decree on Thursday to close Istanbul Bilgi University, one of the country's oldest private universities, eight months after its owner was seized by the state in a criminal investigation into alleged fraud and money laundering.
As grounds for the move, the decree, published in the Official Gazette, cites a law allowing for the closure of a private institution if "the expected level of education and training ... is insufficient".
The decision also said the licence had been revoked because "the founding foundation has been placed under trusteeship." The university's management has not commented.
