Turkey's ministers reject link with corruption claims

ISTANBUL

In this photo taken on Dec. 18, 2013, Muammer Güler, Turkey?'s interior minister whose son was detained for questioning in a major corruption and bribery probe, looks around during a signing ceremony in Ankara, Turkey. AP Photo

Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Güler and Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan have broken their silence about a major graft probe that was opened last week, denying the bribery allegations made against them and their sons.

“My dear fellows, thanks a lot for your trust. None of our businesses are illegal and we don’t have any accounts that we cannot give,” Güler announced on Twitter Dec. 22.

The minister’s son Barış Güler was arrested last week in the corruption probe, the largest in the country’s political history.

The minister himself is also accused of aiding some illegal transactions of prominent businessmen, including Azeri businessman Reza Sarrab, in return for money, according to some reports.

Çağlayan also called the investigation “a trap,” and said: “Neither me, my son, nor my colleagues have been in such wrongdoing.”

Both ministers voiced their belief that “everything will come into open in the upcoming days.”

Çağlayan’s son Kaan Çağlayan and Sarrab were also among those arrested with Güler’s son in the investigation that shook the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the country’s political agenda.