Adviser to Turkish President Erdogan resigns over corruption claims

An adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has resigned after an exiled mafia boss accused him of corruption.

Korkmaz Karaca has been accused of being among a group of senior Turkish officials who sought bribes from major Turkish companies trading on the stock market, Euronews reports.

The remarks by fugitive whistleblower Sedat Peker have prompted Turkish opposition parties to call for an investigation.

Karaca has denied the allegations but said on Wednesday that the "lynching" had reached his family and threatened his health.

He had been a member of the Turkish Presidency's Economic Council and is also an executive of Erdogan's ruling AK party.

Peker, who is on the run in the United Arab Emirates, has made a series of accusations recently on social media against senior Turkish officials, including the country's interior minister. The allegations have been dismissed.

His remarks have embarrassed Erdoğan's government, less than ten months before the next presidential and parliamentary elections.

Another of the Turkish President's advisers targeted by the same accusations resigned from his post on August 28.