There Is A Corruption Investigation, Israeli Defense Company Suspended From NATO Tender

JAKARTA - Israel's defense company Elbit has been suspended by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) from a new tender offer amid a broad corruption investigation involving at least three staff, both active and retired.

The defense company is thought to have paid millions of euros to help secure contracts. Elbit, Israel's largest defense company, is expected to have sold ammunition worth at least 50 million euros to NATO allies over the past decade. The company has also provided undisclosed amounts of service.

This decision could disrupt the supply of several NATO troops. "The affected contract includes ammunition for howitzers mounted on trucks, mobile rocket artillery systems, and defense systems for military aircraft and helicopters," wrote the investigation website Follow the Money, which reported the suspension with La Lettre and Belgian newspapers Le Soir and Knack. , quoted from The National (9/12).

"Elbit also complements the fleet of Airbus MRTT (Multi Role Tanker Transport) tankers from eight NATO countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark, a large program provided in 2023 worth tens of millions of dollars," La Lettre wrote.

A letter dated July 31 written by a manager at the alliance's Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) explained "serious accusations" showing "the suppliers engaged in practices that could be subject to sanctions, including irregularities in contract administration."

Companies other than Elbit could undergo the same process in the near future, the letter warned.

Elbit is not under investigation. But in September, a Belgian judge issued a European arrest warrant for a 60-year-old Italian consultant, Eliau Elaravili, who allegedly bribed NSPA staff. Elaravili is believed to have played an important role as a consultant to Elbit, people close to the investigation said. He may be currently traveling under false identities.

The decision to suspend Elbit and its subsidiary, Orion Advanced Systems, comes amid the suspicion that former NSPA employees have used internal information to secure beneficial contracts for defense companies in exchange for bribes. Investigations are still ongoing in Belgium and Luxembourg.

NSPA plays a strategic role in securing contracts for NATO allies who have collectively increased their defense budget since Russia's massive invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Its budget has almost tripled since 2021 to reach 9.5 billion per year, according to Follow the Money.

In a statement to The National, a NATO official said, as a general rule, the alliance did not comment on the ongoing leaks or investigations. However, they added the alliance "does not tolerate fraud or corruption" and that NSPA "proactively begins cooperation with national law enforcement agencies".

"The Secretary-General of NATO on May 12, 2025 received a request from a Belgian federal prosecutor to revoke the functional immunity of three former and staff of the NSPA at this time, which he gave on the same day," he said.

"Recently, the Secretary-General and general manager of the NSPA began a joint investigative task force between NATO headquarters and NSPA personnel to increase investigative capacity and fully investigate the potential for fraud and corruption by agency personnel or contractors doing business with the agency," he explained.

The National has also contacted Elbit for comment.

Guy Moeraert, a former Belgian soldier and former consultant NSPA agent, is accused of receiving 1.9 million euros in exchange for classified documents that were then forwarded to companies to manipulate tenders. He has served a six-month prison sentence and is currently wearing an electronic signature.

Moeraert is believed to have close ties to Elaravili. They reportedly met through a former Turkish NSPA employee, Ismail Terlemez, who was arrested at Zaventem Airport, Brussels in May, but was released this summer.

Terleleez has been awaiting extradition to the United States. The FBI suspects it was involved in a corruption scheme of more than 1 million euros paid by an Italian defense firm to secure a contract for the sale of TNT explosives to the US Army in 2019 and 2020.

Launched in 2024, US investigations sparked the next European investigation. Earlier this year, dozens of suspects, including five NSPA employees or former staff, were arrested in seven European countries, from the Netherlands to Spain.

However, a US investigation was abruptly discontinued in July, raising questions about political interference, according to media behind the investigation.

They reported that the US withdrew the charges against Terlemenez two weeks after a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the NATO summit in The Hague in July.