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Erdoğan signs decree closing Bilgi University amid criminal probe

EuroNews · 🇫🇷 public France · · 547 words · By Burcu Basaran
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What to know about Erdoğan signs decree closing Bilgi University amid criminal probe

As part of an investigation into Can Holding, the operating licence of Istanbul Bilgi University was revoked after its founding foundation was placed under trusteeship.

Claims checked 18
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

As part of an investigation into Can Holding, the operating licence of Istanbul Bilgi University was revoked after its founding foundation was placed under trusteeship.

Why it matters

The decision has raised concerns about the future of its students and academic staff.

Common ground

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…

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/2026/05/22/erdogan-signs-decree-closing-istanbuls-bilgi…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 18 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 8
check_circle Corroborated 6
help Insufficient Evidence 2
info Single Source 1
verified Verified 1
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Claim 1: “its mandate was significantly expanded by government decrees following the 2016 coup attempt and further broadened by legislative amendments that came into force in January 2025”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided in the search results regarding the expansion of the TMSF mandate in 2016 or January 2025.
info
Claim 2: “Detention orders were issued for 10 people, including principals Mehmet Şakir Can, Kemal Can and Kenan Tekdağ”
SINGLE SOURCE
While Daily Sabah confirms warrants for 10 suspects in the Can Holding investigation, the specific names (Mehmet Şakir Can, Kemal Can, Kenan Tekdağ) are not explicitly listed in the provided snippets, though the context aligns with the reported investigation.
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web search NEUTRAL — SEC. 236A. (a) DETENTION OF TERRORIST ALIENS- (1) CUSTODY- The Attorney General shall take into custody any alien who is certified under paragraph (3). (2) RELEASE- Except as provided in paragraphs (5…
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/DownloadDocument?objectID=…
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web search NEUTRAL — VERIFICATIONAND CERTIFICATION:I acknowledge and affirm this program will maintain current policies and practices in compliance with 9 NYCRR Part 180-3 and 9 NYCRR Part 7300. This program will notify t…
https://www.ocfs.ny.gov/forms/ocfs/OCFS-0291a.docx
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web search NEUTRAL — This is a Detention Learning Packet. It consists of several pages of text and a Response sheet that asks questions about what you did, why you did it, and what goals you must set to avoid the same pro…
https://resources.finalsite.net/files/v1694087538/claibornep…
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Claim 3: “The TMSF was established in 1983 as a banking deposit insurance body”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided in the search results regarding the specific founding date of the TMSF.
verified
Claim 4: “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'”
VERIFIED
The evidence specifically mentions the decree was published in the Official Gazette and cites Article 11 of Higher Education Law No. 2547 regarding the revocation of permits for foundations under administration.
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web search NEUTRAL — ...“Social Climates” Published in The Journal of Social Psychology (Vol...
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224545.1939.97…
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web search NEUTRAL — The closure was published on Friday in Official Gazette and signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan under Article 11 of Higher Education Law No. 2547, which governs the revocation of operating permit…
https://www.turkiyetoday.com/nation/istanbul-bilgi-universit…
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web search NEUTRAL — Official report from latest study on alcohol not being safe to drink.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6…
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Claim 5: “Founded on 7 June 1996 as Turkey's fourth private foundation university”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 6: “Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed a decree on Thursday to close Istanbul Bilgi University”
CORROBORATED
Sources confirm that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the official decree to revoke the license and shut down the university.
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web search NEUTRAL — The incumbent president is Donald Trump, who assumed office on January 20, 2025. [5][6] Since the office was established in 1789, 45 men have served in 47 presidencies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_Unit…
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web search NEUTRAL — Click on a president below to learn more about each presidency through an interactive timeline. The table below the graphic provides a list of presidents of the United States, their birthplaces, polit…
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Presidents-of-the-United-St…
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web search NEUTRAL — Feb 18, 2026 · President of the United States of America Find the list of the 47 US presidents in chronological order starting from 1789 the George Washington to 2024 Elected President Donald John Tru…
https://www.whereig.com/usa/list-of-presidents-of-the-united…
schedule
Claim 7: “Under Turkish higher education regulations, students at a closed-foundation university are automatically transferred to a designated 'guarantor' state institution”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 8: “Council of Higher Education President Erol Özvar had told the public that teaching at Bilgi University would continue without interruption”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 9: “Among those seized were the television channels Habertürk and Show TV, the financial news channel Bloomberg HT, the Doğa school network, and Istanbul Bilgi University”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that Habertürk, Show TV, Bloomberg HT, Doğa school network, and Istanbul Bilgi University were among the assets seized.
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web search NEUTRAL — Habertürk, Show TV, and Bloomberg HT were most recently transferred to Can Holding in Dec 2024 by Ciner Holding owned by Turgay Ciner. (VK). Origin. Istanbul.Former university rector, media executive …
https://bianet.org/haber/can-holding-seized-in-major-financi…
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web search NEUTRAL — Among its education holdings are Bilgi University and the Doğa College network. In April Can Holding acquired full ownership of Habertürk TV, Show TV, Bloomberg HT and HT Spor from Ciner Holding.
https://www.turkishminute.com/2025/09/11/turkey-seizes-promi…
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web search NEUTRAL — Haberturk, Show TV seized in Istanbul as Can Holding faces fraud and laundering probe.Several companies within the holding, including the television networks Haberturk and Show TV, were seized. Meanwh…
https://www.turkiyetoday.com/nation/haberturk-and-show-tv-se…
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Claim 10: “Bilgi University had previously told T24 that Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University had served in that role since 2021”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 11: “The three media outlets had been acquired by Can Holding in December 2024”
CORROBORATED
Sources confirm that the media outlets were transferred/acquired by Can Holding from Ciner Holding in December 2024.
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web search NEUTRAL — Habertürk, Show TV, and Bloomberg HT were most recently transferred to Can Holding in Dec 2024 by Ciner Holding owned by Turgay Ciner. (VK). Origin.
https://bianet.org/haber/can-holding-seized-in-major-financi…
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web search NEUTRAL — More than 85 percent of Turkey’s mainstream media is already under direct or indirect government control, according to RSF. Önderoğlu said the future of outlets like Haberturk, Bloomberg HT, and Show …
https://www.occrp.org/en/news/turkey-seizes-can-holding-in-p…
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web search NEUTRAL — Television: Show TV, Show Turk, Show Max, Haberturk TV.What is publicly known is that the valuation of the deal reflected the high commercial value of television assets such as Show TV and the strateg…
https://statemediamonitor.com/2025/09/ciner-yayin-holding/
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Claim 12: “Bilgi... has more than 20,000 students from both Turkey and abroad”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 13: “The Küçükçekmece Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched its investigation into Can Holding in September 2025”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the Küçükçekmece Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into Can Holding in September 2025.
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web search NEUTRAL — September 16, 2025. As part of the judicial investigation conducted by the Küçükçekmece Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, it was alleged that a criminal organization was established through companies …
https://kureansiklopedi.com/en/detay/judicial-investigation-…
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web search NEUTRAL — The Kucukcekmece Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said operations were carried out at the suspects’ addresses by Istanbul Gendarmerie Command teams. Several companies within the holding, including the…
https://www.turkiyetoday.com/nation/haberturk-and-show-tv-se…
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web search NEUTRAL — The investigation, conducted by the Küçükçekmece Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, alleged that a criminal organization had been established through companies operating under Can Holding.
https://www.dailysabah.com/business/turkiye-issues-warrants-…
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Claim 14: “the operating licence of Istanbul Bilgi University was revoked after its founding foundation was placed under trusteeship”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the revocation of the operating license following the seizure of the university as part of a criminal investigation into its owners.
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web search NEUTRAL — Espressolab is a Turkish coffeehouse chain that opened its first location in 2014 at Istanbul Bilgi University. The company was founded by Esat Kocadağ.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espressolab
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web search NEUTRAL — Erdogan signs official decree revoking operating license of Istanbul Bilgi University following its seizure as part of a criminal investigation.
https://www.turkiyetoday.com/nation/istanbul-bilgi-universit…
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web search NEUTRAL — • Istanbul Bilgi University was established in 1996 and bought by Can Holding in 2019.• A trustee was appointed to run the university following last year's seizure. It has some 22,000 students, with a…
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-05-22/turkey…
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Claim 15: “Can Holding acquired it in 2019 for $90 million”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 16: “Bilgi became part of the Laureate International Universities network... in 2006”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 17: “It currently controls more than 1,000 companies”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 18: “121 Can Holding companies were seized and placed under the management of the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF)”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources confirm that 121 companies of Can Holding were seized and placed under the management of the TMSF.
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web search NEUTRAL — Prosecutors announced on Thursday that the group, which controls Habertürk, Show TV, and Bloomberg HT, had been seized and placed under the management of the state-run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (…
https://themedialine.org/headlines/turkey-seizes-can-holding…
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web search NEUTRAL — The companies have been placed under the management of Turkey’s state-run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), which confirmed that inspections and searches are ongoing at multiple business location…
https://stockholmcf.org/turkey-seizes-prominent-media-outlet…
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web search NEUTRAL — The seized companies have been placed under the management of Turkey’s Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), a state body that oversees confiscated assets.
https://www.turkishminute.com/2025/09/16/can-holding-chairma…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.