Investigators uncover forged language certificate scheme

Police have arrested seven suspects after searching more than 30 properties in an investigation into forged language certificates, BR reported on Friday. The case is being led by police and prosecutors in Aschaffenburg.

Investigators have been looking into the suspected fraud since 2025, when they set up a special investigation team called Kiosk. Searches took place on Wednesday, mainly in North Rhine-Westphalia and around Munich. Police said the investigation spans cases across Germany and Austria.

The team has identified a mid-double-digit number of suspected participants, allegedly involved in different roles in making and distributing certificates. They are suspected of supplying forged language certificates to hundreds of people. Investigators also found links to other cases in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.

The certificates were submitted to immigration authorities as part of applications for German citizenship or settlement permits. Investigators also found that stand-ins sometimes took the language examinations in applicants’ names, often using forged identity documents.

More than 350 officers from several German police forces, the Federal Police and Austria’s Federal Criminal Police Office took part in the operation. Police seized evidence, a mid-five-figure sum of cash and small quantities of packaged drugs. They also found a professional forgery workshop equipped with several high-quality printers. A firearm was found at one suspect’s home.

The suspects appeared before an investigating judge on Thursday. Existing arrest warrants were issued on suspicion of organised and commercial document forgery, among other offences, and the suspects remain in custody, police said.