You're reading: Kazakh ex-customs chief arrested for bribery

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AP) — Authorities say that police in Kazakhstan have arrested the recently dismissed head of customs for bribery in an apparent sign that the fight against corruption in the former Soviet Central Asian nation is being intensified.

The Finance Police said Monday that Serik Baimaganbetov is being held at a detention facility in the capital, Astana, and faces charges of abuse of office and large-scale bribery.

Baimaganbetov was dismissed Thursday from his post as the head of the Customs Control Committee, a job he held since May.

He previously served as Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister and headed the presidential administration’s law enforcement department.

Kazakhstan’s economy grew by 7.5 percent last year, but broad prosperity has been greatly hampered by rampant corruption.