Tester, Baucus: No U.S. taxpayer dollars to Singapore company until FBI has full access to investigate American's death

Senators introduce amendment to block U.S. money to IME until Attorney General certifies FBI access in Shane Todd case

(Washington, DC) – Montana’s U.S. Senators Jon Tester and Max Baucus introduced a measure this week to block U.S. taxpayer dollars from going to the Singaporean technology institute that American Shane Todd worked for until the U.S. Attorney General certifies that the FBI has full access to all evidence and records relevant to Todd’s death. Tester and Baucus introduced the measure as an amendment to the Continuing Resolution to fund the government that is being debated on the Senate floor this week.

Todd died in Singapore under mysterious circumstances in June, days before he was scheduled to return to the United States, after leaving his job at the Institute of Microelectronics (IME), a Singaporean government research institution. Todd’s parents reside in Marion, Montana, and Tester and Baucus have been working with the family to uncover answers in their son’s death.

On Tuesday, Baucus met with the with Singaporean Minister for Foreign Affairs & Law, K Shanmugam in Baucus’ Washington office. Following his meeting with Baucus, the Minister committed publicly to “share all evidence with the FBI” and offered to conduct an audit of IME’s dealings with a Chinese company Huawei.

“It’s time that Singapore give the FBI full access in the investigation of Shane Todd’s death,” Tester said. “Shane was a brilliant young scientist who cared for his work and for his country, and this is a way to hold Singapore accountable and let them know we’re serious about getting the answers the Todds deserve.”

“Singapore’s promise to share all evidence with the FBI is a significant step forward and I appreciate the Minister’s time and attention to Shane’s case, now we have to keep the pressure on to ensure that commitment is fulfilled – the proof is in the pudding,” Baucus said. “I made a promise to Shane’s parents, and a promise to myself, that I’ll do whatever it takes to get the answers they deserve. This amendment sends a clear signal of just how serious we are about getting to the bottom of Shane’s case.”

In 2010, IME received nearly $500,000 in sub-grants from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), an agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of new technologies for use by the military.

Tester and Baucus’ IME Amendment by les_braswell5524