The sons of two Turkish government ministers and the head of a state-owned bank have been charged in connection to a corruption probe. <br /><br />Dozens of people were detained during a series of police raids in Istanbul and Ankara on December 17.<br /><br />A total of 24 people have been charged and are in detention awaiting trial on allegations including abuse of power and facilitating bribes. <br /><br />They include Baris Guler, the son of the interior minister; and Kaan Caglayan, the son of the economy minister; and Halkbank CEO Suleyman Aslan. <br /><br />Of those initially detained, 33 have now been released.<br /><br />The investigation is being seen as a challenge to the authority of Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan – who has called it a “dirty operation.”<br /><br />Following the controversial arrests, dozens of police chiefs were reportedly sacked.<br /><br />Commentators in Turkey believe that the arrests and firings are driven by a feud with Turkey’s ruling AK Party – between supporters of Erdogan and those who back exiled Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is based in the United States.
