Turkey detains sons of 3 ministers’, top level bureaucrats and businessmen over graft probe

Turkish police have detained at least 49 people, including the sons of three cabinet ministers, in Istanbul and Ankara as part of a corruption probe that sent shockwaves across the country.

The major investigation by the financial crimes unit of the Istanbul Police Department looks into alleged bribery connected to public tenders for construction projects, media reports said on Tuesday.

The sons of Interior Minister Muammer Guler, Economy Minister Yafer Caglayan and Environment Minister Erdogan Bayraktar were among those picked up by the police.

The suspects also include well-known businessmen and bureaucrats including the chief executive of Turkish state bank Halkbank Suleyman Aslan and construction tycoon Ali Agaoglu, local media reported.

According to the Turkish newspaper the Hurriyet, suspects are accused of accepting bribes to facilitate getting construction permits for protected areas.

The operation is being widely interpreted as a challenge to the authority of Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which boasts of being pro-business and has pledged to root out corruption.

Turkish political observers speculated that the police raids could have been driven from simmering tensions between Erdogan government and influential US-based Fethullah Gulen group ahead of elections next year.

Erdogan has not made any public comment on the operation, but said, “Those who are supported by dark circles from inside and outside the country cannot change the direction of Turkey.