Vienna- An international academy to train national officials on anti-corruption strategies was established Wednesday in Vienna, through an agreement between the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Interpol.

The International Anti-Corruption Academy is set to offer workshops and courses to top-level law enforcement and judiciary officials from autumn 2009 in Laxenburg, 15 kilometres outside of Vienna.

Eventually, 1,000 students would visit the academy per year, said Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble.

"Our goal is ambitious, and it has to be ambitious," Noble said, as the corruption problem involves 1 trillion dollars (746 billion euros) per year globally.

"This will strengthen capacity to prevent, measure and fight corruption," said Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the Vienna-based UNODC.

The academy would seek to offer post-graduate degrees in the long term, Noble said.

Around 15 million dollars to fund the first three years of the academy's operational are yet to be secured at a donor conference, the Interpol chief said. (dpa)