Retired Navy admiral among officials indicted in 'Fat Leonard' bribery case

A Navy warship.
(Image credit: Handout/Getty Images)

Nine military officers, including a retired Navy admiral, were arrested Tuesday after being indicted in an ongoing bribery scandal.

The indictment, unsealed on Tuesday in San Diego, alleges that in return for providing classified information and other help to Leonard Francis, a Malaysian defense contractor nicknamed "Fat Leonard," retired Adm. Bruce Loveless and other officers were treated to extravagant trips, exorbitant dinners, and the services of prostitutes. Prosecutors say that Francis' company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, fleeced the U.S. Navy out of $35 million by overcharging for items it supplied to ships in the Pacific, like food and water.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.