Turkey extends mass purge after corruption scandal
Iran Press TV
Sat Jan 18, 2014 4:48PM GMT
The Turkish government has extended mass purge of senior officials to banking and telecom sectors as well as state television amid the ongoing corruption scandal that has shaken the government.
Reports said on Saturday that three senior officials with top banking watchdog, the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK), were dismissed.
Five department chiefs from the Telecommunications Directorate (TIB), as well as a dozen of other people, including news editors and department heads at Turkey's state channel TRT, have been also fired.
The government has already sacked thousands of police officers, dozens of prosecutors and some state television officials in response to a graft investigation that has been regarded as the biggest challenge to the 11-year rule of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan has described the corruption scandal against government officials and top businessmen as a disguised international plot.
According to Hurriyet daily, the BDDK dismissals followed the release of leaked tapes which allegedly belong to US-based preacher, Fethullah Gulen.
'We have men at BDDK,' the voice on the tape said.
The Turkish premier has accused Gulen of instigating the corruption investigation.
The investigation broke out on December 17, 2013, after Erdogan's allies were arrested on graft charges.
The Turkish premier was then forced to carry out a major cabinet reshuffle after three of his ministers resigned as their sons were detained in the probe.
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