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An investigation found nearly 170 residents who allegedly defrauded subsidies from the Continuing Education Development Plan, which involved over MOP1 million. Between 2016 and 2019, two staff members attracted residents to apply to the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau for the Continuing Education Development Plan and apply for subsidised courses. The centre reported untrue attendance records and colluded with instructors and students to forge attendance records while the students received cash rebates amounting to half of the subsidies paid or took other courses held by the centre for free.

The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) has booked eight persons, including four former employees of the varsity and four private persons for criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery, and falsification of accounts. While perusing the details of registration and tuition fees of 16,580 students, the DVAC officials found that the serial number of one demand draft was used multiple times against several students.

Two employees at the Higher Education Students’ Loans and Grants Board (HESLGB) have been arrested in Lilongwe for allegedly stealing through a private university, MWK335 million (US$326,000) meant for student loans between 2018 and 2019. Failing to pay rent and provide loans to students at the tertiary institutions, the university made a proposal to the board for a donation of MWK10 million (US$9,750). The board instead sent MWK300 million and asked the university to return the additional money to various accounts belonging to employees at the loans board.

A former Yale School of Medicine finance director and administrator pleaded guilty to wire fraud and false tax returns over a nine year period. She ran an illegal business that involved the bulk purchase and resale of computers and electronic devices for a total of $40 million in losses for the university. Since the incident, the university has worked to identify and correct gaps in its internal financial controls.

San Diego Ashford University, and its parent company, Zovio, have been fined US$22.37 million for fraudulent admissions tactics that left some students in serious debt and without degrees. According to San Diego Superior Court judge, the college has made bogus claims about career outcomes, costs and financial aid to lure vulnerable students to enrol in the online university programmes.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission’s investigation reveals that 10 national universities in South Korea allegedly misappropriated KRW9.4 billion of students’ tuition fees. The funds were intended to cover student guidance programmes and safety activities carried out by professors and staff during lunch hours, after work or on weekends. Employees at one of the national universities overstated the number of such activities by changing locations and clothes earning KRW1.2 billion.

Four former senior officials from the Eastern Cape Department of Education and a company director have been arrested on corruption charges involving the purchase of textbooks for students. The senior education official bypassed the department's supply chain process by obtaining a Supplementary Resource Material (SRM) agreement that was not required. Reports allege that the official received a bribe in the form of two laptops and a mobile phone from the company that received the R59 million for the SRM material.

Reports show that criminals exploit cash payments made by West African students to pay tuition and other service fees at United Kingdom universities. Private universities and cross-border foreign campuses in Africa are used as an investment and to integrate the proceeds of crime into the legitimate economy. When more than the tuition fee is paid, they request the university to refund the overpayment to a third party’s account such as the bank account of a drug supplier or a bribed official.

The position of Director of the International Human Rights Programme at the University of Toronto was offered to an "academically unworthy" individual after US$8 million was donated to the university's medical schools. A US banking company, which reportedly made large donations through its foundation to at least 60 universities, demanded to teach a course from a particular political perspective. As a result, colleges and universities in North America are developing written policies to prevent undue influence from donors.

A former Executive secretary of the Lagos State Scholarship Board has been charged with 8 counts of criminal conversion of N127 million belonging to the scholarship board. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s report revealed that the funds meant for students’ scholarship payments, staff welfare and office renovation had been used for personal purposes.