A court on Friday ordered the arrest of a Russian police officer who posted online video messages urging a nationwide crackdown on police corruption, a court officer said.

On Wednesday, new charges of fraud and abuse of office carrying a prison sentence of up to 10 years were brought against police Major Alexei Dymovsky from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk in Russia's southern Krasnodar Territory.

The officer hit the headlines across Russia last September after he went online to accuse his bosses and colleagues of corruption. He also appealed to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to take action. The recording was also posted on YouTube.com with English subtitles.

Dymovsky earlier confirmed that a Krasnodar Territory investigator had formally charged him with fraud but declined to issue him a copy of the list of charges.

He said the charge was unclear and involved "a sum of not more than $800." He said he would meet with the investigator again to press for clarification of the charges and the evidence against him.

In his online appeal, Dymovsky said department chiefs forced officers to solve nonexistent crimes and even "jail innocent people" to artificially improve crime figures. He complained that ordinary staff were treated "like cattle," had no days off or sick leave, and said young people joined the police on a 12,000 rubles monthly wage ($413) because they knew they would be able to survive on bribes.

Shortly after posting his claims, Dymovsky was fired for "libel and action that tarnishes the police force."

Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev, who vowed last August to eradicate corruption in his ministry, ordered a federal probe into Dymovsky's claims.

This and other scandals prompted President Dmitry Medvedev in December to order the wholesale reform of the Interior Ministry, trimming police numbers and raising salaries in an effort to reduce corruption.

KRASNODAR, January 22 (RIA Novosti)