President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ordered the closure of Constantinople’s major private Bilgi University in the middle of the academic year through a presidential decree.

The decree revokes the university’s operating license. Bilgi University has around 20,000 Turkish and international students and employs prominent professors and researchers in their respective fields.

The decision cites a legal provision allowing the closure of private educational institutions if the level of education is deemed inadequate.

Already last year, the Turkish judiciary had appointed an administrator to oversee Bilgi University, which was founded in 1996, following an investigation into the company that runs it. The company faces allegations of money laundering and tax fraud.

Bilgi University is generally regarded as a liberal institution, participates in the Erasmus program, and hosts European and international students every year.