NRI held in one of US ’s biggest bribe stings

A Briton of Indian origin was among 22 people arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on charges of attempting to bribe the Defence Minister of an African country in what is being described as the largest ever corruption expose of its kind in the US.

Updated on: Jan 21, 2010, 24:40:25 IST

Hindustan Times | By Anirudh Bhattacharyya, New York

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A Briton of Indian origin was among 22 people arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on charges of attempting to bribe the Defence Minister of an African country in what is being described as the largest ever corruption expose of its kind in the US.

Pankesh Patel, 43, a London-based businessman and managing director of a United Kingdom company that acts as sales agent for companies in the law enforcement and military products industries was arrested on Monday in Las Vegas.

The scheme was part of the undercover operation, with no actual involvement from any Defence Minister.

The indictments unsealed before a U.S. court allege that the defendants allegedly agreed to pay 20 per cent “commission” to a sales agent who they believed represented Defence Minister of an African state in order to win a portion of a $15 million deal to outfit the country's presidential guard.

In reality, the “sales agent” was an undercover FBI agent.

The name of the country has not been revealed.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anirudh Bhattacharyya
Anirudh Bhattacharya is a Toronto-based commentator on North American issues, and an author. He has also worked as a journalist in New Delhi and New York spanning print, television and digital media. He tweets as @anirudhb.Read More

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