Thursday, June 2 2005 07:46 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Durban: South Africa yesterday (Jun 1, 2005) said it is co-operating with India in a probe regarding allegations of corruption against its State-owned arms manufacturing firm Denel in securing an order from Indian Army.

"We are assisting India about allegations that certain irregularities took place in a trade deal between India and Denel in 2003," Minister of Public Enterprises Alec Erwin told Parliament in Cape Town.

He was responding to a question about charges that Denel had paid money to Varas Associates, a British intermediary based in the Isle of Man, to obtain a multi-billion Rand contract from India for the supply of rifles under the $ 3.9 million deal.

Erwin said he could only disclose that South Africa was working with Indian Government officials in the probe into the alleged corruption.