Israeli Defense Contractors Arrested in FBI Sting Operation in the US

Associated Press is reporting that 3 of the 22 defense industry contractors arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada and Miami, Florida this week during a bribery sting are of Israeli origin, and were working for Israeli-based firms.

he sting was part of an FBI operation targeting corrupt contractors who were attempting to bribe who they believed was a procurement officer from an African country seeking to outfit a presidential guard unit; actually an undercover agent. An off-the-books “commission” of 20% was to be attached to the final formal deal.

The suspects were arrested and indicted on the 20th and the 21st of January, ending an investigation that included 150 FBI agents. Thirteen Americans, Five Britons and a Peruvian were also arrested in connection with the case.

No specifics regarding the names the employees or the defense companies they worked for could be obtained.

The global private defense and security contractor industry has been long accused of corruption to win lucrative contract deals, but has come under greater scrutiny since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. Israel has long been a leading international provider for weapons, munitions and security “consultants,” many of whom are in practice either private guards, trainers or mercenaries.

Human rights activists and Palestinian advocates have long voiced their concern that former IDF soldiers and Israeli intelligence operatives are using military connections to secure lucrative private contracts for regimes in developing countries throughout the world, similar to former Yugoslav paramilitaries and Apartheid-era South African soldiers in Africa. Military, police and security companies are often approached by Israeli firms declaring themselves to be experts on “counter-terrorism.”

Concerns regarding the potential for outsourcing certain military duties within the West Bank to private Israeli firms has also been on the rise.