Nato contracts, Belgium arrest warrant on Italian contractor

The Belgian Federal Prosecutor's Office issued an international arrest warrant on an Italian consultant and entrepreneur, Eliau Eluasvili (60), suspected of having acted on behalf of the Israeli military and defence technology company Elbit Systems, in some major contracts concluded with a NATO agency that came under investigation.

The Nato procurement investigation involves magistrates and police from Belgium, the Netherlands, the US, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Romania. This was reported by Le Soir, La Lettre, Follow the Money and Knack. Eluasvili has been wanted since 30 September for 'active corruption and participation in a criminal organisation'.

According to the joint investigation by Le Soir, La Lettre, Follow the Money and Knack, the Italian had operated through a network of companies with offices in Lithuania, the US, the UK, Greece and Romania. Already in the summer, the newspapers reported, internal NATO sources had suspended 15 contracts, 13 of which were awarded to Elbit and its subsidiary Orion Advanced Systems, related to munitions, propellant charges, countermeasures, and components for aeronautical equipment. Also among the suspended dossiers is a share of the 100 million programme for the modernisation of patrol vessels of the Portuguese Navy. In an internal memo dated 31 July, the head of the ammunition programme of the Nato agency involved, Nspa, Céline Danielli, had spoken of 'serious allegations' and 'irregularities in the awarding of contracts', warning that the procurement strategy had become 'unworkable'.

The investigation also revolves around a network of former Nspa officials turned consultants, accused of exploiting their position to facilitate contracts for specific companies. Among them is Belgian Guy Moeraert, a former Nspa executive assigned to the munitions programme, who is under house arrest with an electronic bracelet after six months in prison on charges ranging from corruption to money laundering. Investigators are trying to find out whether Moeraert collaborated with Eluasvili to get Elbit contracts worth several hundred million euro.

Also in the crosshairs is the Turkish businessman Ismail Terlemez, a former Nspa agent and now CEO of Arca Defense: he was investigated by the FBI for a TNT explosives contract on behalf of the US military and arrested in Brussels on 13 May, before being released in July after the US Justice Department dropped the charges. The affair creates great embarrassment in European capitals, the media investigation reports, as Elbit is a key supplier in numerous NATO programmes: from self-protection systems for Dutch H225M helicopters to C-390 countermeasures and the multinational A330 MRTT tanker fleet. According to internal documents, Elbit is at risk of being blacklisted as a prohibited supplier by the Nspa. Contacted by the four media, Elbit Systems states that it has started 'a comprehensive compliance programme' and is cooperating with the Nspa, while NATO has not responded to requests.