Turkey revokes licence for university seized by state

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.