Fraudulent qualifications are a problem in many parts of the world, and especially in the Middle East. Unrecognised universities consisting of little more than a website offer tempting short cuts to a degree certificate. Often based in western countries but run by Arab expatriates targeting clients in their homeland, they not only create unfairness in the jobs market but can lead to unqualified people putting others in danger.

The articles listed here are part of an ongoing investigation.

30 December 2020
The Saudi billionaire who came to London, met Tony Blair and the Queen ... and took home a bogus PhD
Degree mills make their money by providing worthless certificates for the vain and the gullible. On occasions, though, they try to polish up their dubious image by presenting an honorary degree to some prominent person. Read more...

28 December 2020
Fake university held 'graduation ceremonies' in Kuwait
Videos show dozens of Kuwaitis receiving degrees from the unrecognised American University of London. Read more...

20 December 2020
Amid a crackdown on fake qualifications, Kuwait appoints minister with a bogus degree
Kuwait's new minister for housing, "Dr" Abdullah Abdul-Samad Marafie, has a PhD from an unrecognised university in London. Read more...

9 November 2020
Fake degrees and bogus universities: a growing problem in the Middle East
Unrecognised universities consisting of little more than a website offer tempting short cuts to a degree certificate. Often based in western countries but run by Arab expatriates targeting clients in their homeland, they not only create unfairness in the jobs market but can lead to unqualified people putting others in danger. Read more...

29 September 2020
Iraqi politicians awarded 'degrees' by unrecognised university
Two Iraqi politicians have been awarded bogus degrees by a self-proclaimed university in Denmark, it has emerged. Read more...

28 September 2020
India's fake degree scandals hit expats in Kuwait
An abundance of forged or bogus educational certificates issued in India is causing problems for the expatriate community in Kuwait. Read more...

16 September 2020
Iraqi-linked academy issues worthless degrees in Denmark
The Aalborg Academy of Science is not a university, though it pretends to be one. It is the latest in a series of privately-run institutions found to be operating in Europe without proper accreditation and issuing worthless degree certificates to people in the Middle East. Read more...

2 September 2020
Degrees of deception: how fake universities targeted the Middle East
Two fake universities based in Norway have been awarding worthless doctorates and diplomas to people in the Middle East, an investigation has revealed. Read more ...

6 September 2014
An odd organisation
The Scandinavian University, established in Norway in 2007 and closed three years later, boasted of having 175 professors and more than 300 lecturers, plus a wide range of courses stretching from engineering and economics to sharia and Islamic Studies. How many students it had remains a complete mystery. Read more...