Berlin - An arrest warrant has been issued for a former German junior defence minister, Ludwig-Holger Pfahls, accused of offering a $2 million bribe as part of a deal to supply tanks to Saudi Arabia, German weekly Der Spiegel reported.

Pfahls, who was also head of a state counter-espionage unit, was ordered to report to German police at Munich airport last Tuesday but failed to turn up.

Pfahls has been abroad, mainly in Hong Kong, for several months.

With acknowledgement to Sapa.