A court ruled on Tuesday that Israeli-Russian tycoon Arkady Gaydamak, who is accused in France of involvement in an illegal arms deal, has to post 2.5 million dollars bail if he wants to leave Israel, where he is being investigated for money laundering.

The decision by the Petah Tikvah court, near Tel Aviv, was issued after the controversial billionaire said he planned to testify at a trial in France over the so-called Angola-gate arms deal scandal.

Gaydamak insists he is innocent of the French charges and of accusations of money laundering and international fraud in Israel, where he is a candidate for the November 11 mayoral election in Jerusalem.

He is among 42 people, among them French politicians and officials on trial in France for allegedly violating a ban on selling arms to Angola in the 1990s, at the height of the southern African nation`s civil war.

Gaydamak is accused of shepherding shipments of 420 tanks, 150,000 shells, 12 helicopters and six warships over five years.