ICDL Arabia has warned that it will take tough and immediate legal actions against all those who illegally produce, sell and grant fake ICDL certificates.

ICDL Arabia is the governing body and certification authority for the ICDL certificate program in Egypt, GCC states and Iraq.

ICDL Arabia said in a statement that it will also pursue the holders of these fake certificates.

ICDL Arabia said it will work closely with the concerned Egyptian authorities to put an end to the proliferation of fraudulent certificates.

The public statement was issued based on ICDL Arabia’s commitment to address the problem of the growing number of fake certificates in Egypt, where individuals are said to be paying EGP1,000 ($139) to EGP1,700 ($237) for a fake version of the certificate without even taking the required official test.

As part of its efforts to tackle this issue, ICDL Arabia offered an amnesty for those that surrender their ICDL fake certificate, sit in for the official ICDL test at any of the ICDL accredited test centres, and complete the certification requirements by the end of 2014, it said.

Jamil Ezzo, director general of ICDL Arabia, said: “The widespread use of fake certificates is not restricted only to Egypt or to the ICDL Program, and ICDL is not the only stakeholder that will benefit from putting an end to this problem. The continued widespread use of fake certificates de-values the investments made by the Egyptian Government in its people as well as undermines those who diligently achieved their ICDL qualifications. Hence, we call on all employers within the public and private sectors to be vigilant by establishing a strict policy requiring the verification of ICDL certificates through our certificate verification website (www.icdlarabia.org/verify) or by contacting our certificate verification department at 0227547340”. - TradeArabia News Service