Afghan corruption probe announced

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The chief prosecutor in Afghanistan, Ishaq Aluko, says that he has a list of senior officials and ministers suspected of taking bribes.

Mr Aluko told the BBC he had asked the president and Supreme Court to set up a special court to deal with the cases.

He refused to make public the names of people under suspicion for receiving money for government contracts until their files had been sent to the court.

President Karzai has come under growing pressure to deal with corruption.

'Good job'

"There is a range of corruption, some of it involving huge amounts of money. It involves... [the] procurement of government supplies such as buying cars, computers and furniture, where we're seeing both big and small amounts," Mr Aluko said.

"And it's exactly the same in the awarding of contracts, for construction, for road building and other projects."

He insisted his department was serious about tackling corruption in all areas.

"Just this week, some big cases have been investigated by my department, involving a governor in one instance and another at ministerial level.

"If you come and see, we have 16,000 prisoners [convicted of corruption], including a deputy minister, company directors and local councils.

"This doesn't mean that corruption is on the increase but it shows we're applying the rule of law in tackling corruption. Our office is very efficient and everyone in it is doing a good job."

The BBC's Martin Venard says that one of the main questions is whether anything will actually come of Mr Aluko's announcement, or whether it is just a response to the huge international pressure that President Karzai is under to deal with corruption.