US court sentences M'sian 'Fat Leonard' to 15 years for corruption


LOS ANGELES: Leonard Francis, the Malaysian military contractor 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 to pay US$20mil in restitution to the US Navy by a federal judge in San Diego and to forfeit $$35mil in ill-gotten gains, the US Attorney's office for the Southern District of California said in a statement.

ALSO READ: 'Fat Leonard' seeks new attorneys ahead of sentencing in US Navy bribery case, causing another delay

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

He pleaded guilty in 2015 to offering bribes to naval officers to steer work to his shipyards in Asia-Pacific ports, then overcharging the navy to the tune of $35mil.

According to court documents, Francis handed out more than US$500,000 in cash bribes and provided prostitutes, first class travel, luxury hotel stays and lavish meals to naval officers, along with expensive gifts like designer handbags and watches.

ALSO READ: M'sian 'Fat Leonard' among prisoners included in US-Venezuela swap deal

Francis had been scheduled to be sentenced in September 2022, but he cut off a GPS ankle bracelet he was wearing while under house arrest and fled to Venezuela.

He was returned to the United States from Venezuela in December 2023 in a prisoner swap between the two countries.

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

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