NEW DELHI (REUTERS) - India will blacklist Finmeccanica and cancel its deal to buy 12 helicopters from the Italian defence group if allegations of bribery are proven against the company, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said on Wednesday.

Antony said India's Central Bureau of Investigation had been ordered to investigate the matter and if the allegations were proven, those involved would "pay for their lapses. Nobody will be spared."

Italian police arrested Finmeccanica's chief executive Giuseppe Orsi on Tuesday for alleged bribes paid to secure the sale of 12 AgustaWestland executive helicopters to the Indian Air Force, when he was head of the Finmeccanica helicopter unit.