New allegations published by Saudi media have placed the north of Cyprus under scrutiny over claims that it has been used as a transit and operational hub by networks linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, involving alleged educational fraud, forged documents and the movement of Islamist fugitives.

According to reports published on Saturday by Saudi broadcasters Al Arabiya and its sister network Al Hadath, authorities in the north have deported a senior figure linked to the Muslim Brotherhood who was allegedly active in Turkey and served as the office director of a prominent leader associated with the Salah Abdel Haq faction of the organisation.

Salah Abdel Haq, an Egyptian physician and Islamist preacher born in Cairo in 1945, has since 2023 been regarded by one faction of the Muslim Brotherhood as its acting supreme guide. He is associated with the group’s so-called “London front”, also known as the Salah Abdel Haq wing.

According to the Saudi reports, the man deported from the north had established a network offering educational brokerage services targeting young people and prospective students seeking to study at universities in the north.

The reports allege that he collected large sums of money from students and their families by promising enrolment in four-year degree programmes. However, the students later discovered they had been registered for only one academic year, while the remaining funds had allegedly been misappropriated.

The same network is also alleged to have facilitated the movement of Muslim Brotherhood members who had been convicted or sentenced in Egypt.

According to the reports, the aim was to secure educational credentials or student status documentation from institutions in the north, which would then assist individuals in obtaining entry to Turkey.

The allegations further include claims of forged IELTS language certificates being sold for up to $5,000 each.

The reports also claim that the individual worked with another person to establish unlicensed and unrecognised educational institutions intended to gather young Muslim Brotherhood members in the north.

According to the Saudi media reports, the case highlights how the north can function as a grey zone for networks involved in illicit movement, fraud and political facilitation.

The reports place particular emphasis on the higher education sector in the north, arguing that it has, for years, become one of the main mechanisms for attracting foreign nationals, while operating under limited international oversight and with increased potential for abuse, including by extremist networks.