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Two ministers' sons and bank chief accused of taking or arranging bribes
Riot police stand guard in front of the courthouse in Istanbul
Riot police stand guard in front of the courthouse in Istanbul where corruption charges were filed against several of the prime minister's allies. Photograph: Osman Orsal/Reuters

Sixteen people, including the sons of two ministers, have been charged in connection with a sweeping corruption investigation targeting allies of the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Suleyman Aslan, the general manager of state-owned Halkbank, was also formally arrested and charged alongside Baris Guler, the son of the interior minister, and Kaan Caglayan, the son of the economy minister, Turkey's state-run news agency reported on Saturday. The son of a third minister and a construction magnate were freed from custody pending trial.

A total of 24 people are now in detention, awaiting trial on corruption allegations, according to the Anadolu Agency. The private Dogan news agency said the ministers' sons and other suspects are accused of taking or facilitating bribes.

The operation began last week, with the detention of scores of people seen as close to Erdogan's government. It has struck at the heart of Turkey's ruling elite.

A court on Saturday ordered the release of 33 others, including the mayor of Istanbul's Fatih district, Mustafa Demir, and the son of Turkey's environment minister.

Dozens of police chiefs have been removed from their posts, accused of abuse of office for keeping the investigation quiet from higher-level officials in security institutions.

Erdoğan has called the investigation a "dirty operation" aimed at undermining his rule and has vowed to go after those who have instigated it.

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