Mr Mwawa has been charged with abuse of public office, theft by public servant, forgery and uttering a false document.

He is the first serving minister to be arrested since the current government took office one year ago.

President Bingu wa Mutharika, 71, has vowed to crack down on corruption, and has had several high-ranking officials, including former ministers, arrested.

"Hon Mwawa was arrested this morning in Lilongwe following the conclusion of our investigations into his alleged fraud and corruption," Egrita Mdala, the Anti-Corruption Bureau public relations officer, told the BBC.

Mwawa, who has denied the charges, allegedly used a cheque meant to be spent on a cancelled official meeting to pay for the $1,700 (£925) wedding reception at a hotel in Blantyre, Malawi's commercial capital.

His wife, journalist Diana Nkhulembe, is a press officer for Vice-President Cassim Chilumpha.

Mr Mutharika was chosen as the United Democratic Front candidate in the 2004 presidential elections by former President Bakili Muluzi.