HANOI, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam has just set up an anti-corruption department under the Government Inspectorate, local newspaper Vietnam News reported Thursday.

    The department, led by deputy head of the inspectorate Mai QuocBinh, is in charge of developing strategies and programs on preventing and fighting against corruption, and helping leaders of the inspectorate organize and guide the implementation of anti-corruption regulations.

    The department is also tasked to inspect anti-corruption activities in ministries and localities, gather information about corrupt cases and build an anti-corruption database.

    The department has planned to prioritize its anti-corruption activities in capital construction, banking, finance, and state-funded projects.

    According to government statistics released in June 2005, Vietnam detected 176,534 economic crimes between 1993 and 2004, including 9,960 cases of corruption.

    The amount of money found in each corruption case during the 1990s averaged 710 million Vietnamese dong (VND) (nearly 44,700 U.S. dollars), which increased to 810 million VND (50,900 dollars) in the 2000-2004 period.