Kuala Lumpur  - Malaysia's new anti-corruption panel on Wednesday cleared the country's police chief and attorney general of any wrongdoing in the imprisonment of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim more than 10 years ago.

The decision was a severe setback for Anwar, who has maintained that he was framed on charges of corruption and sodomy in a political conspiracy that began with his 1988 sacking as deputy prime minister.

In July, Anwar filed a complaint against national police chief Musa Hassan and Attorney General Gani Patail for being "actively involved" in fabricating evidence leading to him being charged.

However, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission announced that a three-member panel of senior judges found no wrongdoing.

"After studying the case carefully and in depth, Abdul Gani and Musa did not commit any criminal offence as alleged by Anwar Ibrahim," the commission said in a statement released by the official Bernama news agency Wednesday.

Anwar was fired by former mentor Mahathir Mohamad in 1998 and was subsequently convicted of corruption and sodomizing his former driver. He was imprisoned for six years before being released in 2004 after a court overturned the sodomy conviction.

The charismatic politician is now facing new allegations of sodomy brought by a male aide. His trial is due to begin in July.

Sodomy is punishable by up to 15 years' imprisonment in the predominantly Muslim country.

Anwar, 61, claims the latest sodomy charge is meant to hinder the progress of his three-party opposition, which made unprecedented wins against the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi during the general elections in March 2008. (dpa)