US court sentences M’sian ‘Fat Leonard’ to 15 years in prison for corruption

LOS ANGELES: Malaysian military contractor Leonard Francis, known as “Fat Leonard”, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Tuesday for his role in the US Navy’s worst-ever corruption scandal.

Francis, 60, was also ordered by a federal judge in San Diego to pay $20 million in damages to the U.S. Navy and forfeit $35 million in ill-gotten gains, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California said. expression.

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Francis, who ran military contracting company Glenn Defense Marine Asia out of Singapore, was arrested in 2013.

He admitted in 2015 that he offered bribes to naval officers to divert business to his shipyards in Asia-Pacific ports and then overcharged the navy by $35 million.

According to court documents, Francis distributed more than $500,000 in cash bribes and provided prostitutes with first-class travel, luxury hotel stays and lavish meals for naval officers, as well as expensive gifts such as designer handbags and watches.

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Francis was scheduled to be sentenced in September 2022, but he cut off the GPS bracelet he wore while under house arrest and fled to Venezuela.

He was extradited from Venezuela to the United States in December 2023 due to a prisoner exchange between the two countries.

As part of the plea agreement, Francis provided detailed information to government investigators, which led to the conviction of a number of high-ranking U.S. Navy officers. -AFP