The former head of Israel’s Arrow anti-missile missile project was found guilty Sunday of accepting bribes from a Canadian supplier of parts for the Israeli-designed and built missile.
Dov Raviv, who headed the U.S.-funded Arrow project at Israel Aircraft Industries, was found guilty by Tel Aviv District Court Judge Amnon Strashnov of accepting a $175,000 bribe.
Strashnov, who will sentence Raviv later this week, rejected Raviv’s claim that the $175,000 was a legitimate payment he received for “professional advice” given to the Canadian firm.
Strashnov found Raviv not guilty of charges he had defrauded Israel Aircraft Industries out of some $500,000, apparently because the prosecution failed to bring to court the main prosecution witness from abroad.
Raviv, 57, is widely regarded as the brain behind some of Israel’s most advanced weapons projects. He is not suspected of having endangered state secrets in connection with the bribery scandal.
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