Nicosia, Cyprus. Saudi media reports published on Saturday alleged that the north of Cyprus was used as a transit and operational hub by networks linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, involving alleged educational fraud, forged documents and the movement of fugitives.
The reports, published by Al Arabiya and Al Hadath, said authorities in the north had deported a senior figure allegedly linked to the group.
Deportation and alleged network activity
According to the Saudi reports, the deported individual had been active in Turkey and had served as office director to a prominent leader associated with the Salah Abdel Haq faction of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Salah Abdel Haq, an Egyptian physician and Islamist preacher born in Cairo in 1945, has since 2023 been regarded by one faction of the Muslim Brotherhood as its acting supreme guide. He is associated with the group’s “London front”, also known as the Salah Abdel Haq wing.
The reports alleged that the man had established a network offering educational brokerage services for young people and prospective students seeking to study at universities in the north.
Allegations of student fraud
According to the reports, the network collected large sums of money from students and their families by promising enrolment in four-year degree programmes.
The reports said the students later found they had been registered for only one academic year, while the remaining funds had allegedly been misappropriated.
Claims involving travel and documents
The same network was also alleged to have facilitated the movement of Muslim Brotherhood members who had been convicted or sentenced in Egypt.
According to the reports, the aim was to secure educational credentials or student status documents from institutions in the north to assist individuals in obtaining entry to Turkey.
The allegations also included claims that forged IELTS language certificates were being sold for up to $5,000 each.
Unlicensed institutions
The reports further claimed that the individual worked with another person to establish unlicensed and unrecognised educational institutions intended to gather young Muslim Brotherhood members in the north.
According to Al Arabiya and Al Hadath, the case illustrated how the north could function as a grey zone for networks involved in illicit movement, fraud and political facilitation.
