Retired US Navy officer pleads guilty to arranging bribes for Singapore supplier

A retired US Navy officer has pleaded guilty to federal charges of arranging kickbacks on behalf of an Asian defence contractor, marking an escalation of a long-running bribery scandal.

Edmond Aruffo, who retired as a lieutenant commander in 2007 after serving 20 years in the navy, admitted one count of conspiracy to defraud the US government as part of a deal with federal prosecutors in California.

After leaving the navy, Aruffo worked for three years as an executive with Glenn Defence Marine Asia, a Singapore-based contractor that supplied and serviced US Navy ships at ports across Asia until the bribery investigation became public in September.

Aruffo, 45, is the fourth person to plead guilty in the case, along with a navy petty officer, a senior agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and another Glenn Defence Marine executive.

Three others are awaiting trial, including two navy officers and the company's president, Leonard Francis, a Malaysian known as "Fat Leonard".

In addition, the navy has said that two admirals and two captains are under investigation.