AKIPRESS.COM - urkish prosecutors ordered the detention of 417 suspects in a money-laundering investigation into the transfer of about 2.5 billion lira (£323 million) worth of foreign currency to bank accounts abroad, broadcaster CNN Turk said on Tuesday, Telegraph reports.

The vast majority of the recipients of the funds were Iranian citizens resident in the United States, it added, citing a statement from Istanbul's chief prosecutor.

Istanbul police teams were launching raids across a series of provinces, searching properties and detaining many people, the broadcaster said.

State-owned Anadolu news agency said 216 of the suspects had so far been detained in operations across 40 provinces.

Police, the prosecutor and other judicial authorities were not immediately available to comment on the report, which was carried by other Turkish media.

The investigation was aimed at those who "targeted the economic and financial security of the Turkish Republic," the Istanbul chief prosecutor's office said, according to CNN Turk.