Prosecutors in the northern
Italian city of Bologna are investigating the son of Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as part of a money laundering
probe, ANSA sources close to the matter said Tuesday.
The inclusion of Erdogan's son Bilal in the list of people
under investigation follows a petition to authorities from
Turkish businessman Murat Hakan Uzan, a political opponent of
Erdogan who is wanted by Turkish authorities and is in exile.
The petition asks Italian police to investigate potential
sums of money brought to Italy by Bilal, who has been studying
at John Hopkins University in Bologna since last autumn.
Bilal, 35, officially came to Italy to resume PhD studies
he began in 2007. However, Turkish anti-government sources say
he flew to Italy in the fall with a "large sum of money" as part
of a "getaway operation", according to Uzan's petition.
The petition also states that Bilal arrived in Bologna with
a team of armed body guards who were not granted access to Italy
until they were conferred Turkish diplomatic passports.
Uzan says he and his family are victims of a political and
judicial campaign launched by Erdogan.
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