S'pore-based firm loses Navy deals

US - A Singapore-based company involved in a US Navy bribery scandal has been barred from doing business with the federal government and has had nine Navy contracts worth US$205 million (S$254 million) terminated, a Navy official said on Monday.

Glenn Defence Marine Asia (GDMA) and its chief executive, Leonard Glenn Francis, were barred on Sept 19 from contracting with the US government and from receiving benefits of federal assistance programmes, the official said on condition of anonymity.

GDMA was the United States Navy's chief husbanding agent in the Pacific Rim, organising logistics such as tugboats, security, fuel and waste removal for port calls by Navy ships in the region.

The Navy suspension came in response to a criminal complaint in the US District Court in southern California last month that accused Francis of bribing government employees in exchange for confidential information related to Navy contracts.

Francis was arrested last month, as were Navy Commander Michael Misiewicz and John Beliveau, a Naval Criminal Investigative Service agent. The three were charged with conspiracy in a bribery scheme. All three face a maximum of five years in federal prison if convicted.