NEW DELHI - 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. NandaÂ’s son, a tax accountant and an income tax official were also arrested by IndiaÂ’s Central Bureau of Investigation at a hotel in the financial hub Mumbai, the report said. The four were arrested on charges of cooking NandaÂ’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.
A sting operation in 2001 allegedly caught a political party treasurer admitting on tape that money changed hands over the deal and led to corruption charges being brought against a former defence minister.
But even as the Barak investigation continues, India and Israel have deepened their military cooperation. Israel is now IndiaÂ’s number-two defence supplier. The two countries decided last month to jointly produce anti-aircraft missiles for the Indian navy in a 625-million-dollar deal.