Overview
- Coordinated raids on October 21–22 produced multiple arrests and large seizures, including a professional forger’s workshop, mobile phones, laptops, numerous forged documents and a firearm.
- Five men aged 35 to 53 were remanded in Münster and seven further suspects aged 26 to 46 were arrested in an Aschaffenburg‑led action, with investigators reporting German, Turkish and Serbian nationalities among those detained.
- Prosecutors say the operation made hundreds of illegal language certificates and shifted from forging papers to using 'Stellvertreterprüfungen' where substitute exam takers used forged IDs to pass language tests for clients.
- The probe began in 2025 and now runs across regions and borders, with Polizei Aschaffenburg in the lead, parallel inquiries by Polizei Münster and Warendorf, cooperation from Austrian authorities and support from Europol, and a special commission in Münster continuing evidence analysis.
- Because language certificates are required for German naturalization, authorities warn the case may affect pending citizenship applications and trigger tighter verification of exam results as prosecutions proceed.