Turkey President Orders Probe into Wiretaps, Tackling Graft
Turkey's president on Tuesday ordered a probe into wiretapping and the government's ability to fight corruption amid a widening graft scandal that has rocked Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's administration.
President Abdullah Gul ordered the top auditing body, the State Auditing Board, to investigate rules surrounding the wiretapping of communications to "assess their compliance with the law".
The move comes after audio tapes emerged last week of Erdogan and his son allegedly discussing how to hide large sums of money on December 17 -- the same day as the launch of a graft probe that ensnared the premier's inner circle.
Analysts say the tapes -- which Erdogan as dismissed as fake -- have the potential to hurt him at local polls on March 30, a key test for the prime minister ahead of a presidential election in August and parliamentary elections next year.
Erdogan has dismissed the recordings as a "vile montage" by his rivals and accused both prosecutors and police of spying for another country.
The investigation will assess "the efficiency of the current regulations regarding the fight against corruption and examining the weaknesses of auditing structures and processes in this fight," according to a statement on the president's website.
It will also examine regulations governing Turkey's construction sector, which has been at the heart of the largest corruption scandal in the country's history.
Erdogan has blamed supporters of Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen for launching a major corruption investigation into allegations of bribery in construction projects, gold smuggling and illicit dealings with Iran.
In retaliation the Turkish strongman has sacked hundreds of police and prosecutors believed to be linked to the Gulen movement.
The Turkish government also said last week thousands of influential people, including the premier, cabinet ministers and journalists, had been wiretapped by Gulen supporters.
Source: Agence France Presse
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