Israel Aerospace Employee Suspected to have Sold Jet Engine Parts to Civilians

Israeli authorities have apprehended an Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) employee on suspicion of trying to sell jet engine parts to civilians.

The accused, hailing from the central Israeli city of Ness Ziona, was arrested by Defense Ministry Security Authority (Malmab) and police on September 25.

The state-run firm lodged a complaint with the Israeli Ministry of Defense against the 52-year-old company employee for offering to sell spare parts for IAI jet engines worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to civilians. Following the information provided by IAI, the authorities launched a covert operation - an undercover officer contacted the employee and made a deal with him to buy parts.

The suspect was then arrested by detectives and taken in for questioning. He was then released to house arrest for five days with restrictive conditions. The investigation into the case continues, the MoD said.

IAI stated that they approached the Defense Ministry “on its own initiative in order to address the issue through the proper channels and in accordance with the law” after initial suspicions were raised by the man. The company added that the company’s management considers such activity to be “serious and will not give in to attempted fraud and misconduct.”