Turkey revokes licence for university seized by state in criminal probe

Turkey has ​revoked the operational licence ​for Istanbul Bilgi ‌University, effectively forcing ​it to close, according to a decision published in the Official ‌Gazette on Friday, after the university was seized by the state in a criminal investigation last year. * Istanbul ‌Bilgi University was established in 1996 and bought ‌by Can Holding in 2019.

* Can Holding's companies were seized by the state as part of a money laundering, tax ⁠evasion ​and organised ⁠crime investigation last year. * A trustee was appointed to run ⁠the university following last year's seizure. It has some 22,000 ​students, with around 3,400 students registering in 2025.

* Turkish ⁠media say students will continue their studies at the Mimar ⁠Sinan ​University of Fine Arts, the Istanbul Bilgi University's guarantor school. A guarantor school is legally required ⁠for all foundation universities and must be a state university. * ⁠Turkish President ⁠Tayyip Erdogan signed off on the decision to revoke Istanbul Bilgi's licence.

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