Unlicensed Institute Shut Over Forged Certificates

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Adverts promising overseas academic certificates led investigators to an unlicensed institute that prosecutors have now closed, remanding its owner in custody after the Ministry of Education reported forged credentials.

The Public Prosecution said it received the report after academic certificates were found to be fake and issued for the benefit of affiliates at several educational institutions. A prosecution inquiry then found the institute had no licence to run teaching work or issue academic awards.

The owner, described by prosecutors as an Asian national who ran the institute, was arrested on the Prosecution’s orders.

A team from the Public Prosecution later went to the premises and carried out an inspection and search. Judicial officers from the General Directorate of Anti-Corruption, Economic and Electronic Security attended, alongside staff from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

Prosecutors said the premises had been arranged as unlicensed classrooms. During the search, investigators seized electronic devices and advertising signs stating the institute could provide academic certificates from abroad.

They also found a batch of certificates said to be linked to foreign universities, along with documents and financial records that prosecutors said show the owner received money in return for the certificates.

The Public Prosecution said it has heard from witnesses and from a number of people for whom the seized certificates were issued. Others are being called in as checks continue, including anyone found, through review and examination, to have obtained academic certificates through the institute.

The accused has been questioned, prosecutors said, and has been remanded in custody while enquiries continue. The institute has been closed, and the seized devices are being examined.

Prosecutors have also allowed access to the accused’s and the institute’s bank accounts to work out how much money was taken from those linked to the seized certificates.

The Head of Cybercrime Prosecution said the education sector was a national interest and that the Public Prosecution, working with the relevant bodies, would take all legal steps against acts that weaken trust in education or harm its credibility.