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Former Military Sealift Command Employee Charged in Bribery Scheme

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(file photo)

Published May 22, 2020 4:33 PM by The Maritime Executive

A former senior U.S. Navy employee working the Military Sealift Command was charged with bribery and lying to investigators by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Xavier Fernando Monroy, the former Director of Operations of the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command Office in Busan, Republic of Korea, was charged in connection with his alleged participation in a bribery conspiracy and alleged lying to federal investigators. The complaint, filed in the District of Columbia, charges Monroy with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, one count of bribery, one count of false statements, and one count of obstruction of justice. His co-conspirators have already plead guilty to charges stemming from the incident. 

The complaint alleges that Monroy engaged in a conspiracy to commit bribery with Sung Yol “David” Kim, the owner of DK Marine, a ROK-based company that provided ship husbanding services to the U.S. Navy, and James Russell Driver III, a former civilian U.S. Navy cargo ship captain. The incident stemmed from the provision of husbanding services for Driver’s ship during a December 2013 port visit in Chinhae, Korea.  

It is alleged, that in order to steer the ship’s husbanding services business to DK Marine, Driver sought, and Kim conveyed, Monroy’s directions on how to circumvent appropriate Navy procedures.  

According to the affidavit filed with the complaint, Monroy also provided Kim with confidential and other proprietary, internal U.S. Navy information. In exchange for the steering of business and the provision of such information, Kim paid bribes to Monroy, including cash, personal travel expenses, meals and alcoholic beverages, and the services of prostitutes. The affidavit further alleges that in July 2019, Monroy repeatedly lied to DCIS and NCIS during a voluntary interview. 

Driver pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery for his role in the incident and Kim pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery for his role.