International arrest warrants have been issued by an Argentine federal judge against two current and two former IBM officials.

The judge is investigating allegations that IBM Argentina paid bribes to win a $249 million contract.

Project Centenary, the scheme to computerise the state-owned Banco de la Nacion, was given the go-ahad in 1994 but was soon mired in controversy.

Front company

It has developed into Argentina's biggest ever case of corporate corruption.

It is alleged that a small Argentine company received $37m from IBM Argentina to provide a back-up system in the Banco Nacion contract - a system that was neither needed nor provided.

The investigating judge, Adolfo Bagnasco, has said the company was a front for kickbacks.

Some of the money has been traced to Swiss bank accounts but most of it has not been found.

A number of Argentine government officials, and top executives from IBM Argentina either resigned or were fired as a result, and some were indicted.

"Suspects not witnesses"

Two ex-Banco Nacion directors admitted having Swiss bank accounts containing cash they say they received for steering the contract to IBM Argentina, a subsidiary of the American computer giant .

IBM in America has tried to distance itself from the Argentine scandal but Judge Bagnasco wants the four men, Peter Rowley, Robeli de Libero, Steven Lew and Marcio Kaiser, in Argentina.

He has described them as suspects rather than witnesses and is expected to ask Interpol to arrest the men.

Fred McNeese, an IBM spokesman in the United States, said the company has not received official notification that Judge Bagnasco's order had been signed.

He said: "They currently have no plans to go to Argentina.

"Judge Bagnasco's investigation has produced no evidence that they were aware of any misuse of funds stemming from the Banco Nacion-IBM contract or that they were involved in any wrongdoing."

All four men worked in IBM's US headquarters at the time of the scandal.