Turkish Leader Calls Audio Recordings Fake Amid Corruption Scandal

Alleged recordings of conversations between Prime Minister and his son were leaked on Monday

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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that voice recordings purportedly depicting him telling his son to dispose of large sums of money amid a graft probe are fabricated.

The unverified recordings, posted to YouTube on Monday, claim to be of Erdogan and his son Bilal discussing how to get rid of some $41 million on the day in December when police raided houses in a corruption probe of Erdogan’s government. The leader’s office described the recordings as “completely untrue and the product of an immoral montage,” Reuters reports. Erdogan told parliament on Tuesday that the allegations were a “vile attack” that would “not go unpunished.” Meanwhile opposition leaders called for an investigation into Erdogan and for his government to resign.

Erdogan, who was first elected to power in 2002, maintains that the corruption probe against his government and those close to him have been orchestrated by the moderate U.S.-based Islamic cleric, Fethullah Gulen.

“The people don’t believe these lies,” Erdogan told lawmakers, Reuters reports.

In recent weeks several voice recordings allegedly of Erdogan and his allies have been circulating online. On Tuesday, pro-government media claimed that Turkish prosecutors loyal to Gulen had illegally wiretapped thousands of prominent figures in Turkey.

Four government ministers have resigned in the corruption probe. Gulen, a one-time Erdogan ally, has denied trying to orchestrate investigations into alleged government corruption.

[Reuters]