Vietnam arrests former coast guard chief over 'embezzlement' case

FILE PHOTO: Police officers, wearing protective masks, stand guard in front of a communist logo at the National Convention Center, the venue for the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Hanoi, Vietnam January 28, 2021. REUTERS/Kham/File Photo

HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam's Defence Ministry has detained a former commander of its coast guard on suspicion of embezzlement, the government said on Monday, the latest arrest as the ruling Communist Party intensifies its long-running crackdown on graft.

Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Son was arrested last Wednesday along with six other senior coast guard officials for their involvement in an "embezzlement case", the government said in a statement, which did not elaborate on the alleged offence.