HAVANA, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Sunday called on his countrymen to fight corruption and crimes in the country.

In his closing speech at the ordinary session of the National Assembly of People's Power, Diaz-Canel said that "fighting corruption is not only a task of the government and the police force, but a mission for the whole society."

The president insisted that the "unity" of citizens would be the main tool against corruption in the island nation.

Cuban authorities consider corruption as a major threat to the country, with the potential to undermine its socialist ideology to a greater degree than the current financial crisis.

The Office of the Comptroller General reported in May that a national audit of 361 state-owned entities had discovered economic damage worth over 1 billion U.S. dollars.

The office added that 1,251 people had been sanctioned as a result.

"There will be no impunity for the offenders," Comptroller General of Cuba Gladys Bejerano told reporters.

The office was founded by former President Raul Castro in 2009 to bolster anti-corruption measures, especially in the state-run entrepreneurial sector.