An indictment was prepared on Friday against former Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who was arrested in a corruption investigation and removed from his post following his arrest, for the crime of "serial forgery of official documents," with a request for a prison sentence from two years and six months up to eight years and nine months, on the grounds that his university diploma was fake.

Axar.az informs, citing Daily Sabah, the investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the allegations that Imamoglu's undergraduate diploma was fake has been completed.

The indictment requested that the documents that Imamoglu allegedly obtained by fraud be confiscated under Article 54 of the Turkish Penal Code.

The indictment was sent to the Criminal Court of First Instance for evaluation.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation into the crime of "forgery of official documents" following reports that the undergraduate diploma of Imamoglu was fake. The findings of the report were prepared by the Higher Education Council regarding the forgery of his diploma. Imamoglu's statement was taken on March 5 as part of the investigation.

Though his lawyers insisted on the authenticity of Imamoglu’s 1995 diploma, investigators questioned how he could transfer to the prestigious institution from a private university not recognized by the Turkish education authority in the year he was transferred.

The mayor, already embattled with several lawsuits from insults to corruption of public officials, told the investigators that he enrolled in the Turkish Cypriot university’s business administration department in 1988, and one year later, he found out about “others transferring to universities in Turkiye."

"In 1990, I followed the transfer procedure and applied (for transfer to Istanbul University),” the mayor said in his statement to prosecutors.

The politician is also accused of running a criminal organization that profited from rigged tenders and rampant bribery in exchange for building and zoning permits and awarding tenders.