Singapore woman in ‘Fat Leonard’ US Navy bribery scandal jailed for leaking confidential info for cash
Malaysian businessman Leonard Francis plied officers with liquor, prostitutes and other perks to ensure that US Navy ships stopped at ports where his firm operated
A Singaporean woman who played a role in the “Fat Leonard” bribery scandal that rocked the US Navy was sentenced to 33 months in jail on Friday.
Gursharan Kaur Sharon Rachael, 57, a former lead contract specialist with the US Navy, was charged at a Singapore district court in late 2015 for leaking confidential information in exchange for cash and luxury vacations.
She had been giving the information to Malaysian businessman Leonard Francis, who ran a port services firm called Glenn Defence Marine Asia (GDMA).
The portly, Singapore-based Francis – nicknamed Fat Leonard – had admitted to plying officers with cash, liquor, prostitutes and other perks to ensure that US Navy ships stopped at ports where his firm operated.
Twelve naval officers had pleaded guilty in the United States to charges relating to their roles in the scandal, with nine of them sentenced to various jail terms and fines.
One of them was retired rear admiral, Robert Gilbeau, who became the highest-ranking US Navy officer to be convicted in the inquiry and was jailed for 18 months.