Turkey's massive corruption case dropped by prosecutor

The Istanbul prosecutor has decided not to proceed against 53 graft suspects, among them former ministers' sons, ex-manager of Halkbank and an Iranian-Azeri businessman. With this decision, the final part of a scandal that has been dogging President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's inner circle since late 2013 has been buried, while the snail-paced parliamentary inquiry continues, Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Ekrem Aydıner, a prosecutor from the anti-terror and organized crime unit of Istanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office, pointed October 17 a lack of grounds for legal action against the suspects. According to semi-official Anadolu Agency, Aydıner found that there were problems with evidence to prove the accusations of corruption. Proof of criminal elements or of any such conspiracy was not discovered, the prosecutor said.

In the initial phase of the investigation that was launched on December 17, Iranian-Azeri businessman Reza Zarrab was accused of bribing senior government figures in a scheme that allegedly involved Barış Güler, son of former Interior Minister Muammer Güler, and Salih Kaan Çağlayan, son of former Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan.