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Turkey ministers Caglayan, Guler and Bayraktar resign amid scandal Turkey ministers Caglayan, Guler and Bayraktar resign amid scandal
(about 3 hours later)
Three Turkish ministers have resigned after their sons were arrested amid a corruption scandal that has hit the government of PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan. One of three Turkish cabinet ministers who have resigned over a corruption scandal, Environment Minister Erdogan Bayraktar, has urged Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to step down.
Announcing his decision, Environment Minister Erdogan Bayraktar said the prime minister should also step down. Mr Bayraktar, Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan and Interior Minister Muammer Guler quit after their sons were taken into custody.
Two of the ministers' sons are among 24 people charged, who include the head of the state-owned Halkbank. All three deny any wrongdoing.
The prime minister has threatened to "break the hands" of rivals who used the inquiry to undermine his rule. Police are investigating allegations of illicit money transfers to Iran and bribery for construction projects.
He has referred to a "dark plot" by forces outside Turkey.
In response to the police crackdown, dozens of senior police officials have been removed from their posts, including the head of police in Istanbul.
All three ministers had appeared with Mr Erdogan in front of a crowd of supporters on Tuesday night on his return to Esenboga airport in Ankara from a trip to Pakistan.All three ministers had appeared with Mr Erdogan in front of a crowd of supporters on Tuesday night on his return to Esenboga airport in Ankara from a trip to Pakistan.
First to announce their resignations on Wednesday were Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan and Interior Minister Muammer Guler, whose sons have both been charged in connection with the inquiry. In a telephone interview with NTV television, Mr Bayraktar complained of being put under pressure to resign by Mr Erdogan.
Kaan Caglayan and Baris Guler have both denied accusations of involvement in bribery relating to urban development projects and the allocation of construction permits. He insisted that "a great proportion" of construction projects that were under investigation were approved by the prime minister himself, adding: "I want to express my belief that the esteemed prime minister should also resign."
In a statement, Mr Caglayan condemned the inquiry as a set-up and said he was stepping down "so that all the light may be laid on this ignoble operation that targets our government". 'Cash in shoe boxes'
A few hours later, the environment minister told Turkish TV he was leaving his post. "For the sake of the wellbeing of this nation and country, I believe the prime minister should resign," he said. The sons of Mr Caglayan and Mr Guler, along with the chief executive officer of the state-run bank Halkbank, are among 24 people who have been arrested on bribery charges.
His son was arrested and questioned in connection with the corruption investigation but later released without any formal charge. Mr Bayraktar's son was detained as part of the inquiry but later released from custody.
Mr Bayraktar said he himself was not implicated in the scandal but it was the prime minister's right to remove whoever he wished. Media reports say police seized $4.5m (£2.75m; 3.29m euros) in cash that was stashed in shoe boxes in the home of the bank's CEO, while more than $1m in cash was reportedly discovered in the home of Mr Guler's son, Baris.
"But I don't accept any pressure to resign... because a big majority of construction plans laid down and approved in the investigation dossier were carried out with the approval of the prime minister". Mr Erdogan has denounced the corruption probe as a plot by foreign and Turkish forces to discredit his government ahead of local elections in March.
Addressing supporters at the airport late on Tuesday, Mr Erdogan said the 17 December arrests had targeted "the national will, the people", the Hurriyet newspaper reported. But he said his ruling party would not try to sweep the allegations under the carpet.
The opposition had demanded that the ministers step down and on Sunday anti-government protesters took to the streets of Istanbul demonstrating against the scandal. "The AK Party does not overlook or tolerate corruption. If it does, it will have removed its raison d'etre," Mr Erdogan told a meeting of his party in the capital, Ankara.
The prime minister came to power in 2002 as head of the Islamist-rooted AK Party and commentators say the arrest of figures linked to the government and the subsequent police dismissals are part of an internal party feud. Commentators believe the scandal stems from a power struggle between Mr Erdogan's government and an influential US-based Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen, who is said to have many followers within Turkey's police and judiciary.
Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen, in exile in the US, is seen as a rival to Mr Erdogan, and his Hizmet movement has supporters in the police and judiciary. Mr Gulen, who has denied any involvement in the investigation, left Turkey in 1999 after being accused by the then government of plotting to establish an Islamic state. He was cleared of that charge but has never returned to Turkey and now lives in Pennsylvania.
'Shoe boxes' The government has dismissed dozens of police officials who were either involved in the investigation or thought to be linked to Mr Gulen.
Among those arrested by investigators was the chief executive of state-run Halkbank, Suleyman Aslan, and a mayor of a conservative area of Istanbul. Journalists have been prevented from entering police buildings, leading to claims that the government is trying to impede the investigation.
Mr Aslan has been charged with receiving bribes. Turkish media report that $4.5m (£2.7m; 3.2m euros) in cash was found in shoe boxes at his home. The opposition had long called for Mr Caglayan and Mr Guler to resign, saying they should not remain in positions where they would be able to influence the investigation.
His bank, one of Turkey's biggest, has drawn criticism in the US for enabling the purchase of Iranian natural gas in return for Turkish gold. An Iranian-Azerbaijani businessman was one of those detained, on suspicion of involvement in irregular financial transactions. As he resigned on Wednesday, Mr Caglayan questioned the legitimacy of the investigation.
Halkbank has insisted the practice was lawful before it was stopped in June as a result of EU and US sanctions on Tehran. "It is clear that the operation is a dirty conspiracy against our government, our party and our country,'' he said in a statement.
The Turkish government says the corruption scandal has wiped more than $1bn from the bank's market value. "I am leaving my position at the economy ministry to spoil this ugly plot, which has involved my colleagues and my son, and to allow for the truth to be exposed.''
Mr Guler told reporters on Tuesday that he was the victim of a political plot and that there is nothing his family could not account for.
He also said alleged wiretap recordings of a conversation with his son - reportedly used as evidence by police for the arrests - were tampered with, and that the cash discovered in his son's house was money earned from the sale of a villa.