In a statement, USMS said that Francis is wanted for violating the conditions of his pretrial release. This was after he escaped from house arrest in San Diego last Tuesday.

“The United States Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to US$40,000 for information leading up to the arrest of Leonard Francis.

“Also known as ‘Fat Leonard’, Francis is wanted for violating the conditions of his pretrial release. He was convicted of bribing naval officials,” the agency said in a statement.

USMS is a federal enforcement agency under the US Department of Justice (DoJ).

San Diego police were asked to perform a welfare check on Francis, but when they arrived at his house, he was not there.

Francis, who ran a military contracting firm, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, from Singapore, was arrested in San Diego in 2013 as part of a federal operation.

His company serviced visiting US Navy ships in ports that he controlled across Southeast Asia. He was found guilty of bribing US Navy officials for their influence and access to military intelligence, allowing him to earn millions of dollars from navy contracts.