The finance minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Fernand Tala Ngai, who was arrested yesterday by the security services, has been released.

The reason for his arrest and subsequent release are both unclear.

The events coincide with a visit by an important delegation from the International Monetary Fund to review relations with Congo over arrears in its payments to the fund.

The BBC Kinshasa correspondent says a growing number of former senior government figures have been arrested recently, with five ministers held in prison since May on corruption charges.

Earlier this year, Mr Tala Ngai was accused in a newspaper article of stealing government funds.

He was called to the office of President Kabila's special security adviser, but no action was taken, and the publisher of the newspaper (Vision in March) spent a month in prison for printing the story.