PIO woman jailed up to 3 years for role in US navy corruption cases

Singapore: A 57-year-old Indian-origin Singaporean woman was on Friday jailed up to three years for her role in the largest and most extensive bribery and fraud conspiracy in the history of the United States Navy, according to media reports.

Gursharan Kaur Sharon Rachael, a former lead contract specialist with the US Navy and based in Singapore, had the responsibility of managing ship husbanding contracts worth millions of dollar, with duties such as drafting contract requirements, including negotiating and evaluating bids.

Gursharan, had received more than SGD130, 000 in bribes from Leonard Glenn Francis, the Malaysian CEO of maritime services company Glenn Defense Marine (Asia) (GDMA), in exchange for sensitive US Navy information, Channel News Asia reported.

Sentencing her to jail term of two years and nine months for three charges of corruption and one for dealing with benefits of criminal conduct, District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan said that there was "flagrant abuse of trust and authority" by Gursharan.

He further said that there was also "a high level of premeditation", with steps taken to avoid detection, a sustained period of offending of seven years and a "high amount of gratification" by the accused.

The Judge also ordered that the SGD130,278.34 be surrendered by Gursharan to Singapore's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

Between 2006 and 2013, Gursharan disclosed non-public information from the US Navy to Francis, which helped GDMA clinch 11 contracts worth a total of about US D 48 million, out of 14 contracts that the company bid for, according to the investigations by the CPIB. Gursharan provided sensitive information pertaining to pricing strategies, price information of GDMA's competitors and questions that the contracts review board had posed to GDMA's

competitors.