Washington, Sep 6 (IANS): The US Justice Department has said that Italian police arrested a top executive of Russia's state-owned aircraft-engine maker on American charges that he tried to steal aviation secrets.

The Justice Department said that Alexander Korshunov, 57, head of business development at United Engine Corp (UEC), was detained last week on his arrival at an airport in Naples, Italy, on a criminal complaint that the Department released on Thursday, Efe news reported.

UEC produces engines for civil and military aircraft, as well as power turbines.

The company is a subsidiary of the Russian state conglomerate Rostec, whose head, Sergei Chemezov, is subject to US sanctions.

The US complaint said that Korshunov, who is a former employee of Russia's Foreign Ministry, and another defendant used an Italian company to hire current and former employees of General Electric (GE) Co's aviation subsidiary to do consulting work on jet-engine accessories.

It said that those people "used trade secrets owned by GE Aviation" to create a report.

The report focused on gear boxes that transfer power from engines to external components such as hydraulic pumps, generators and fuel pumps.

"The individuals charged in this case targeted employees of Avio Aero, a GE Aviation subsidiary company in Italy, in an effort to illegally obtain trade secrets related to external engine components," GE Aviation said in a statement on Thursday, adding "ee protect and defend our intellectual property".

The Justice Department didn't comment on the whereabouts of Korshunov or Bianchi.