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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a new decree on Monday reinstating Istanbul Bilgi University's operating license, reversing a closure order issued just three days earlier and reopening one of Türkiye's oldest private foundation universities amid an ongoing criminal investigation into its conglomerate owner.
The reinstatement decree, published Monday in the Official Gazette under issue number 33264 as Decision No. 11387, formally annulled a prior presidential order dated May 21 that had revoked the institution's license. The reversal was issued at the request of the Council of Higher Education, known by its Turkish acronym YOK, and authorized under Article 11 of Higher Education Law No. 2547, the same provision cited in the original closure.
The about-face came after a period of acute disruption on campus. Following the initial shutdown, university staff reported canceled meal cards, access restrictions at the Kustepe preparatory campus and difficulties accessing institutional email accounts. Private security personnel had informed some lecturers they would need to vacate their offices.
Istanbul Bilgi University's precarious situation stems from its ownership by Can Holding, a conglomerate that came under criminal scrutiny in September 2025 after the Kucukcekmece Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched a sweeping investigation. Prosecutors alleged the group had established a criminal organization engaged in smuggling, fraud and money laundering.
Financial regulators from MASAK, Türkiye's financial crimes watchdog, found evidence suggesting tax liabilities had been reduced through fictitious transactions and off-book operations, while shell companies were allegedly used to mask unlawful capital increases.
A court subsequently placed 121 companies linked to Can Holding, including the university, under the management of the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), a state body that typically assumes control of seized financial and commercial assets. The list of affected entities also included broadcaster Haberturk, television channel Show TV, private school chain Doga Koleji and Energy Petrol.
Several senior figures connected to the group, including Mehmet Sakir Can, Kemal Can and Kenan Tekdag, faced detention orders. Kemal Can, the businessman who purchased the university in 2019 for $90 million, was subsequently arrested on charges including leading a criminal organization and concealing illicit assets. Raids across four provinces led to further arrests and judicial supervision measures against additional executives and members of the Can family.
Founded on June 7, 1996, Istanbul Bilgi University was Türkiye's fourth private foundation university, built around a liberal arts model on campuses that became landmarks of Istanbul's cultural scene, including the Santralistanbul arts and energy museum complex on the Golden Horn.
The institution joined the U.S.-based Laureate International Universities network in 2006, a global chain that at its peak operated more than 70 universities across 25 countries, before Can Holding acquired it in 2019.
Can Holding had expanded aggressively before its collapse, acquiring the Haberturk and Show TV media brands from the Ciner Group as recently as March 2025, just months before prosecutors moved against the conglomerate.
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