Turkish Police Rip Down ‘$128 Billion’ Party Banners in Lira Row

Republican People’s Party chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu speaks in front of a “Where is the $128 billion?” sign in Ankara, on April 13. 

Photographer: Mustafa Murat Kaynak/Anadolu/Getty images

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Police pulled down opposition party banners alleging misuse of central bank reserves to protect the lira by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s son-in-law as he presided over the economy, deepening a political feud with its origins in Turkey’s monetary policy.

Acting on an order from the prosecutor’s office, posters asking “Where is the $128 billion?” were removed using cranes from the facades of Republican People’s Party offices in Istanbul and elsewhere overnight, local media reports said Wednesday.