New York, Dec 22 (IANS) An Indian businessman here has pleaded guilty to bribing a former senior Indian UN diplomat with cash and a luxury Manhattan apartment in order to get major deals in his favour.

"Nishan Kohli, 30, admitted making illegal payments to Sanjay Bahel, a former high-ranking UN purchasing official, as compensation for steering business to Kohli from 1998 to 2003," said Michael Garcia, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Kohli faces a maximum of 10 years in prison. Bahel last month pleaded not guilty to related charges, the Washington Post reported.

Bahel, from the Indian Defence Auditing Services, was on deputation to the UN. He was suspended from the world body on charges that he bent rules to help Telecommunications Consultations of India Ltd (TCIL), represented by Kohli, get contracts worth million of dollars.

An inquiry revealed that Bahel got contracts worth $100 million during his posting as chief of commodity procurement for the world body between 1998 and 2003 for TCIL.

Kohli's attorney, Jacob Laufer, declined to discuss his client's role in the scheme. But he said Kohli signed an agreement with federal authorities Thursday to cooperate in their ongoing investigation into corruption at the UN.

"He has made a mistake, and he's contrite about it," he said.

Bahel's attorney, Richard B. Herman, said his client never used his influence to favour Kohli's business. He denied that Bahel received any cash payments. Herman also said that Bahel had already left the UN procurement division when he began renting an apartment from Kohli in 2003.

Bahel allegedly provided Kohli "exceptional access" to inside information on pending UN contracts and acted as a vocal advocate for the companies represented by Kohli, according to Thursday's statement.

Kohli in return rewarded Bahel for his support by renting him a luxury apartment at a steep discount and later sold it to him for well below its market value.