Vietnam will establish a department under the General Directorate of Police, affiliated to the Ministry of Public Security, to strengthen corruption prevention and fight, local newspaper People's Army reported Thursday.

The country is selecting some 60 people with high professional qualifications, good virtues and rich experiences in combating wrongdoings, especially corruption, from agencies and localities nationwide to serve the operation of the future Corruption Crime Investigation Department, which will be set up in early September.

The ministry is actively probing into a corruption case at the Project Management Unit No. 18 under the Transport Ministry, under which the unit's general director named Bui Tien Dung has spent millions of U.S. dollars on making soccer bets via an international gambling ring. The ministry is supposed to report the investigation results to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Aug. 20.

Since early July, the prime minister has exhibited a determination to create an environment conducive to cracking down on corruption and bribery. He suspended major-general Cao Ngoc Oanh from the post of deputy head of the General Directorate of Police and accepted the resignation of Nguyen Van Lam, vice chairman of the Government Office holding deputy ministerial rank, who were allegedly involved in efforts to bale out Bui Tien Dung.

Recently, Nguyen Tan Dung also suspended a deputy chief inspector for allegedly receiving bribes from corrupt petrol industry officials.

Source: Xinhua