Report: USD 4.5 million seized from bank chief's home

Istanbul police leading a major corruption and bribery investigation targeting allies of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan have seized shoe boxes stashed with money totaling some USD 4.5 million in the home of the chief executive of a state-owned bank, a Turkish news agency reported today.
The Dogan news agency said the shoe boxes were discovered on bookshelves in the home of Halk Bank's CEO, Suleyman Aslan, who is among dozens of people, including the sons of government ministers, detained for questioning as part of the corruption and bribery investigation.
Dogan, a reliable news source, cited unidentified judicial officials for its report. A national police official said he could not immediately confirm the report, while officials at the Interior Ministry refused comment.

In a sign that Erdogan was fighting back against the probe, five senior police officials were removed from duty on Wednesday, Turkish media reports said. They included commissioners in charge of combatting organised crime, smuggling and criminal financial activity and oversaw the corruption detentions, according to Dogan.
Erdogan has suggested the probe is a politically motivated "dirty trap" to harm his government. The investigation comes ahead of local elections in March that are largely seen as a vote of confidence in Erdogan's 11-year tenure. He is expected to be a candidate in the presidential election in August.
The state-run Anadolu Agency said more than 50 people are in police custody as part of the investigation. Other reports said as many as 84 people were detained.

Police confirmed to The Associated Press that the sons of three government ministers have been held for questioning: the sons of Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan, Interior Minister Muammer Guler and Environment and Urban Planning Minister Erdogan Bayraktar.