Riyadh, Nov 27 (IANS): Saudi Arabia announced the arrest of 226 people involved in 158 corruption cases, a state-media report said.

The National Anti-corruption Commission accused them of exploiting their authorities to accept briberies, Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying on Thursday.

One of the cases, which was reported in August, involved Saudi officers and civilians working for the Defence Ministry.

They were accused of accepting briberies totalling 1.229 billion Saudi Riyals ($327 million), in addition to forgeries and money laundering.

Another case involved a retired National Guard officer who was charged with accepting bribery of 8.2 million Saudi Riyals when he was in active duty.

The commission vowed to continue its fight against corruption, highlighting that the penalty against those who commit briberies could be waived if they report the cases to the authorities.

Saudi Arabia has been leading a war against corruption in the last few years as part of its efforts to protect the strength of its economy.