(MENAFN- AFP) A Turkish bank said Monday it has replaced its chief who reportedly stashed $4.5 million in shoe boxes and has been charged in a corruption probe that has shaken the government.State-owned Halkbank said Suleyman Aslan was replaced by Ali Fuat Taskesenlioglu as of Friday.More than 50 people, including the sons of former cabinet ministers and business leaders, were rounded up in December as part of a high-level corruption probe that struck at the heart of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government. The probe, which Erdogan has dismissed as being instigated by political opponents ahead of March local elections, looked into alleged money laundering linked to sanctions-hit Iran, gold smuggling and bribery in real estate projects.Aslan was among those implicated in the investigation and has been charged with bribery.Halkbank has come under fire for being involved in gold sales in return for Iranian energy imports that allegedly dodge international sanctions on Iran.Turkey, which has little of its own energy resources, remains one of the largest customers for Iranian oil and a major buyer of its natural gas, but denies that it has busted sanctions.Taskesenlioglu previously worked at Turkish state lender Vakifbank as independent member of its executive board.
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