The US Department of Justice is flexing its muscles with the unexpected detention of BAE chief executive Mike Turner and another executive at George Bush International Airport. The DOJ is investigation BAE for alleged corruption and if found guilty, the company could be forced to repay billions of dollars in profit secured through corrupt activity. More details of Mike Turner's surprise party in The Independent.

Joshua Hochberg, the former chief of the DOJ's fraud section has told The Times that Turner is likely to be dragged before a grand jury. As Evening Standard columnist Simon English says, these DOJ operatives are an extraordinary breed. "These guys do a few years crushing whatever comes into their path, before they either join Wall Street or run for election. A string of top fraud convictions against big business people is almost a required part of the CV for lawyers-turned-politicians, a nod to the public that they are on their side."

Earlier this month, I did a blog entry looking at how the arms traders was pledging to become more ethical. But clearly, the DOJ will not let it to pretend that the bribes didn't happen.