A former manager of Finmeccanica SpA has been arrested over allegations of international corruption, his lawyer said Oct. 23, in the latest move in a broader probe facing Europe’s third-biggest defense group.

Former commercial manager Paolo Pozzessere, currently an adviser to the Italian group, was arrested as part of an investigation into supply contracts with Panama and, according to investigative sources, Brazil.

“It is the first arrest in the Panama affair,” Pozzessere’s lawyer, Carlo Marchisio, told Reuters.

In a statement later in the day, Finmeccanica said the group had not paid any compensation for brokering three contracts in Panama worth 180 million euros ($233 million).

Pozzessere, who resigned as commercial director of Finmeccanica in September 2011, had not been notified of an investigation, Finmeccanica said.

The probe covers figures connected to Finmeccanica as well as the extent of links between government officials and the state-controlled company.

EX-MINISTER PROBED

Former industry minister Claudio Scajola is also under investigation.