Swiss reject Indian request for help in arms case

ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland has rejected India's request for legal assistance in investigating two Swiss companies suspected of bribing Indian officials to win arms deals.

"As the requesting authority did not deliver information requested by international assistance law, the OAG (Office of the Attorney General) was by law not in a position to provide information," an OAG spokesman said in an emailed comment on Sunday, confirming a report by the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper.

"The OAG would have assisted according to international assistance law if respective requirements would have been fulfilled by the Indian authorities," he said.

India in 2012 placed Swiss-based Rheinmetall Air Defence AG, part of German group Rheinmetall AG, on a blacklist of arms firms banned from doing business in India following corruption allegations that it strongly denied.

The paper said another Swiss arms company also under investigation in India was affected by the decision not to grant legal assistance. Neither Swiss company could be reached immediately on the weekend for comment.

(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Mark Heinrich)