India arrests arms dealer accused of corruption

10 Mar, 2008

An Indian arms broker who has been accused of taking kickbacks to help seal a defence deal with Israel seven years ago was arrested on tax evasion charges at the weekend, a report said Sunday.
Suresh Nanda, one of several people accused of corruption in an 11.5 billion-rupee (288-million-dollar) deal clinched with Israel in 2000, was arrested late Saturday, the Press Trust of India reported.
Nanda's son, a tax accountant and an income tax official were also arrested by India's Central Bureau of Investigation at a hotel in the financial hub Mumbai, the report said.
The four were arrested on charges of cooking Nanda's account books, PTI said. Nanda, the son of a former Indian navy chief, was interrogated about his finances by the agency in January, which is trying to trace a money trail back to the deal to purchase seven Barak anti-ship missile systems from Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd. Investigators believe Nanda received about 100,000 dollars in kickbacks in the deal.

Read Comments