Germany dismantles fraud network in language tests and citizenship certificates

German authorities announced the uncovering of a large fraud network linked to language tests and certificates required for obtaining citizenship, following investigations carried out by the Criminal Police and Public Prosecutor’s Office in Nuremberg.

Authorities explained that investigations revealed several individuals taking exams on behalf of others for money, noting that the fraudulent operations began in October 2025, resulting in the arrest of suspects, with expectations to expand the investigation to include dozens of other cases across various German cities.

The official statement indicated that the investigations started after detecting forged language certificates, leading to the discovery of a 39-year-old Iraqi intermediary in Nuremberg, believed to have organized the fraud by recruiting substitutes to take exams using fake documents and other people’s names.

Investigations also confirmed that the forged certificates were later used in residency and naturalization procedures, as well as driving license transactions, for amounts ranging between 2,500 and 6,000 euros per case.

In December 2025, ten people were apprehended in North Rhine-Westphalia while attempting to take exams using forged IDs, and a 22-year-old German man was arrested in January 2026 as part of these operations.

Raids in Nuremberg and Hamm led to the seizure of forged documents, data storage devices, cash, and narcotics.

The two main detainees—the 39-year-old intermediary and the young German man—are currently in pre-trial detention, while investigations indicate that most of the “substitutes” were recruited from North Rhine-Westphalia, in one of the largest fraud cases related to language tests and naturalization in Germany in recent years.

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