Oct 6, 2013

of navy commander, ncis agent and singapore businessman charged in bribery scheme

Singapore-based businessman Leonard Glenn Francis' next home could be a jail in the United States, where the 58-year-old Malaysian father of five was charged last month with defrauding the US Navy in a case involving hundreds of millions of dollars in government contracts. Part of the plot allegedly involved bribing a US Navy commander and a special agent with luxury travel and women in exchange for classified information that allowed Francis to profit from his business dealings with the US Navy.

[Photo Source: Navy Commander, NCIS Agent and Singapore Businessman Charged in Bribery Scheme]

On Sept 16, Francis, now facing a possible five years in jail for conspiring to commit bribery, was arrested in San Diego while on a business trip. He is the owner of multinational firm Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA), based at 15D Pandan Road.

Francis, 58, allegedly bribed U.S. Navy Commander Mike Misiewicz, 46, to redirect U.S. Navy vessels to ports his company would benefit from. He then allegedly bribed NCIS Special Agent John Beliveau, 36, to gain confidential information in a fraud investigation. All three have been charged with conspiring to commit bribery, which carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison.

Read more (SEX, ports and government contracts)

Investigations into the widening scandal, which last Wednesday also saw the Navy sack another commanding officer, Captain Daniel Dusek of the USS Bonhomme Richard, have also involved Singapore's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau. But it declined to comment on the case as it is before the courts.

According to official records here, GDMA lists Mr Ng Chee Tiong, who had ties with multilevel-marketing company Sunshine Empire - Singapore's biggest Ponzi scheme - and Madam Rosemary Chng, who runs health supplements firm Elixir Botanica, as its secretaries.