Former head of Turkey's exam body released in state exam cheating probe

ANKARA – Doğan News Agency

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Ünal Yarımağan, the former head of Turkey’s Student Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM), has been released on probation after being sent to court with a request for his arrest in an investigation into fraud allegations in the state civil servant examination.

Public Prosecutor Yücel Erkman, who is investigating the fraud of the 2010 Public Personnel Selection Examination (KPSS), which is used for the recruitment of applicants to Turkey’s state institutional jobs, was called to testify as a suspect in the investigation on April 2. He was released on probation a day later.

Erkman requested the arrest of Yarımağan on charges of “malpractice, forgery of official documents and willingly helping a crime organization.”

A total of 32 suspects were arrested in the 2010 KPSS cheating investigation. Suspects in the case are accused of forming an illegal organization, being a member of an illegal organization, forging official documents, removing criminal evidence and disclosing prohibited information. The court ruled for the release of 30 arrested suspects under a probation decision.