The High Office of Oversight and Anti-Corruption (HOOAC) and the Joint Committee of Monitoring Anti-Corruption on Saturday said they appreciate the recent moves made against a number of officials at the Ministry of Interior (MoI) in fighting corruption but said corruption at the MoI should be eliminated completely.  
 
According to the HOOAC, the majority of MoI corruption cases, which includes embezzlement, are linked to contracts.
 
“Our findings reveal that most violations and corruption are linked to the MoI contracts and there is a need to follow the issue through judicial organizations,” HOOAC chairman Ghulam Husain Fakhri said.
 
“This is the beginning - which has started with the MoI - but this should continue in other security agencies as there are reports about corruption in the Ministry of Defense,” said Omid Sharifi, a spokesman for the joint committee.
 
In addition to the arrest of a number of senior MoI officials on corruption charges, the cases of three former MoI deputies – Jamil Junbish, Mujtaba Patang and Jamalnasir Seddiqi – are under investigation by the Attorney General’s Office, reports say.
 
Meanwhile, MoI spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said replacing former officials with new officials in the ministry is part of their efforts to reform the security agency.
 
“Corruption is undeniable, but part of the MoI leadership is fighting corruption and bringing reform in police,” he said.
 
This comes after the head of one of Kabul’s police headquarters was arrested last week on charges of accepting at least $30,000 USD as a bribe.