Turkish police have launched simultaneous raids on 44 companies in Istanbul and have warrants to detain 120 company executives as part of the investigation into last month's attempted military coup, state-run Anadolu agency reports.
It said the companies were accused of giving financial support to the movement of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is accused of orchestrating the July 15 putsch. He denies the accusation.
None of the companies involved were named. Police on Tuesday began searches in the Uskudar and Umraniye districts of Istanbul, including buildings belonging to an unnamed holding company, the agency said.
Since the coup, more than 35,000 people have been detained, of whom 17,000 have been placed under formal arrest, and tens of thousands more suspended in a purge of Turkey's military, law-and-order, education and justice systems.
