Turkish Finance Minister to resign if accused of corruption

Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec.18
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Shimshek is ready to resign if accused of corruption, Hurriyet newspaper reported on Dec.18.
The Finance Minister said it is too early to talk about the consequences of the corruption scandal in the country, but if charges are brought against him, he is ready to leave his post.

Turkish police have recently conducted special operations in Istanbul and Ankara, resulting in the arrest of 52 people that includes businessmen and sons of some ministers.
The detained businessmen are accused of corruption, smuggling and selling drugs.
The sons of Interior Minister Muammer Guler - Baris Guler, Minister of Economy Zafer Caglayan - Salih Kaan Caglayan, and Minister of Environment and Urban Planning Erdogan Bayraktar - Oguz Bayraktar are said to be among those arrested. All three were detained on suspicion of corruption.

The ministers are the members of the Turkish ruling party.

Mayor of Istanbul's Fatih Municipality, Mustafa Demir, a businessmen engaged in construction, one of the heads of state Halkbank, as well as several officials from the Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning were arrested during the same operation by the police. Searches were conducted at Halkbank's office.

Translated by M.L.

Edited by C.N.