Turkish MP Levent Uysal Accused of Attempted Loan Fraud Amid Fake Diploma Scandal

However, instead of facing trial, Uysal managed to enter parliament. The higher education institution, already shaken by the fake diploma scandal, now faces revelations about its owner's involvement in a fraudulent scheme to secure a loan from Switzerland.

On June 17, 2022, Levent Uysal attempted to secure a 45 million Euro loan from IntaCapital, a financial institution in Switzerland, through Maslak GY Real Estate Investment Joint Stock Company.

According to BirGün newspaper, the financial institution requested a 500,000 Euro deposit as collateral. After depositing the required amount, Uysal provided the financial institution with a letter of guarantee, which he claimed to have obtained from VakıfBank, a public bank. However, IntaCapital contacted VakıfBank to verify the authenticity of the letter of guarantee.

On July 29, 2022, VakıfBank confirmed that the letter of guarantee was fraudulent. In its communication with IntaCapital, VakıfBank stated, "The letterhead from VakıfBank is forged and not valid. Furthermore, such a letter of guarantee does not exist. A legal process will follow, and our relevant departments will initiate proceedings at the level of the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office." The bank reiterated the fraudulent nature of the document in another notification on March 29, 2023, stating that "The document in question was not issued by our bank personnel." Shortly after this scandal, Uysal was elected as an MP for MHP Mersin in the May 14, 2023 elections. The current status of the legal process initiated by VakıfBank remains unclear.

Following the fake diploma scandal at the Cyprus Health and Social Sciences University, the university's Deputy Rector Serdal Işıktaş, General Secretary Serdal Gündüz, International Office Director Amir Shakira, and Cooperative Companies Trustee Çelebi Ilık were arrested.