Dani Pedrosa was arrested and released by Spanish police in Valencia on Saturday, March 31st for allegedly attempting to cheat during an examination required to obtain Yachtmaster certification. The Spaniard was arrested as part of an operation by the Spanish Guardia Civil national police force against a network involved in helping people cheat while sitting their yachtmaster exams, under the auspices of the Valencia regional government. Twenty-one people were arrested in the operation, including Dani Pedrosa and nine others accused of using earpieces during the exam, seven others who were charged with using a false identity, and four members of the gang itself.

The gang is accused of assisting people sitting the exam to obtain their yachtmaster certificate - required to handle a leisure boat either in coastal waters or further offshore, depending on the certificate - by fraudulent means. According to reports by the Spanish Europapress agency, the gang allegedly used earpieces to pass information to their customers sitting the exam, to allow them to pass and gain their certification. Pedrosa is reportedly one of the person accused of using such an earpiece. Europapress reports that the other method allegedly available was providing an experienced sailor with a false identity, to allow them to take the exam for the gang's customers, though Pedrosa is not reported to have been involved in this. None of the examiners were involved or arrested in the fraud.

Pedrosa was charged and released by the Guardia Civil, pending the outcome of the investigation. It is not believed that this will have any effect on his participation in the MotoGP season opener at Qatar, other than being pestered by journalists with questions about the affair. A Honda spokesperson was not available to give an official response at the time of writing this story.