Vietnam has arrested a former senior police official on suspicion of involvement in an illegal online gambling ring, the Ministry of Public Security said.

Lieutenant General Phan Van Vinh, 62, is accused of “abusing power in performance of official duties”, the ministry said in a statement on its website, adding that he would be held for four months pending investigation.

Vinh is the second senior police official to be held in less than a month for suspicion of involvement in the gambling ring, amid an extensive crackdown on corruption in the Communist Party-ruled country.

Vinh had served as chief of the General Department of Police before he retired in April last year.

Last month, authorities arrested a former head of the high-tech crime police department, Nguyen Thanh Hoa, on suspicion of involvement in the gambling ring.

According to Vietnam‘s penal code, anyone found guilty of “abusing power in performance of official duties” may be jailed for up to 15 years.

Reuters