An active Red Noticed was issued by Interpol for Leonard Glenn Francis. Photo: Interpol Venezuela.
This Wednesday, September 21, the Venezuelan authorities arrested Leonard Glenn Francis at the MaiquetĂa International Airport. Glenn Francis, also known as “Fat Leonard,” was responsible for orchestrating a notorious corruption plot within the United States Navy.
Glenn Francis already had an active Interpol Red Notice, requested by the US for corruption and bribery crimes. Red Notices request that international law enforcement agencies arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action and are used for fugitives attempting to escape prosecution.
The Interpol office in Caracas reported that he was arrested when he was preparing to leave the country for Russia.
Leonard Glenn Francis “had entered the country from Mexico with a stopover in Cuba, and then [would have] proceeded to the Russian Federation,” Interpol Venezuela posted on Instagram.
They added that the detainee would be handed over to the authorities to start the extradition process.
“Fat Leonard” has been the object of international persecution since September 4, 2021, when he escaped from house arrest in San Diego, agencies report.
In addition, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) was offering a $40,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
Fat Leonard: the most wanted
Leonard Glenn Francis is a Malaysian businessman on the run who pleaded guilty in the largest corruption scandal in the history of the US Navy.
Interpol issued a Red Notice against him when he escaped from house arrest just days before his sentencing, after cutting off an electronic ankle shackle.
“Fat Leonard” ran a military contracting company in Singapore, and from there orchestrated a vast plot of corruption for more than a decade. The bribes he offered to US Navy officers included gifts, cash, and wild sex parties at luxury hotels, all in exchange for helping his company, which controlled ports throughout Southeast Asia.
Glenn Francis pleaded guilty to bribery in January 2015 and agreed to forfeit $35 million in ill-gotten gains, $5 million of which he had paid several years ago.
Due to a medical permit, he had been under house arrest since 2018, but fled three weeks ago without having paid the rest of the money.
The arrest of one of the US’s most wanted fugitives for corruption dismantles the accusations of US authorities against Venezuela for allegedly promoting this type of crime.
(Ăšltimas Noticias) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/KZ/KW/EF
