Fake degrees: The blacklist of officials targeted by the Prosecutor's Office

Paraguay's Fiscalía is scrutinizing a list of 21 state officials suspected of holding fake university degrees, following an exclusive data cross-reference. The investigation, which involves records from the Ministry of Education and Sciences (MEC) and the Public Function Secretariat (SFP), has uncovered potentially fraudulent diplomas among employees in critical government areas.

These implicated officials work in vital sectors including the Ministry of Public Health, the Institute of Social Security (IPS), and the judicial system. The Fiscalía is actively conducting raids on irregular institutions, such as the Instituto Superior Interamericano de Ciencias Sociales (Isics), which is alleged to have issued "ghost" degrees in the past despite operating irregularly.

The MEC initially believed the fraudulent diplomas were primarily in Education Sciences but discovered the issue spans all fields of knowledge. Minister of Education Luis Ramírez confirmed the broad scope of the problem. The Fiscalía's investigative team, led by prosecutor Teresa Sosa Laconich and prosecutor Juan Leonardi Guerrero, is coordinating efforts to address the scandal.

The "blacklist" includes officials from various municipalities in Alto Paraná and San Pedro, along with employees from the IPS, the Ministry of Health, and the MEC itself. This extensive probe into academic fraud among public servants highlights a significant integrity issue within the state apparatus.