NEW BERN/WASHINGTON: The military contractor formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide agreed to pay a fine of $5 million to $7.5 million for trying to operate in Sudan in violation of trade sanctions and for other arms-trade breaches, according to documents unsealed on Tuesday.
The deal includes an acknowledgement of the conduct by the company, now under new ownership and known as Academi LLC.
Known for helping to protect US government employees abroad, the company drew harsh international scrutiny for shootings and other conduct in Iraq. It said in a statement on Tuesday that it wants to resolve past issues and move on.
The US Justice Department accused the company of 17 criminal counts in connection with selling arms and owning illegal weapons, according to the documents that were unsealed in US District Court in New Bern, North Carolina.
But the Justice Department agreed to defer the prosecution so long as the company pays the fine to the US government, meets audit requirements and complies with export controls.
Academi’s violations were wide-ranging, prosecutors said.
The company sold satellite phones in Sudan in 2005 and proposed to provide security services there in 2006 without approval from the US State and Treasury departments, court filings said.
The company employed through a contractor people from Denmark and Sweden on a project to construct armored personnel carriers, provided military training to Canada and exported ammunition to Iraq and Afghanistan, all without the required US government permission, the filings said.
It also illegally kept automatic weapons, like the AK-47 machine gun, in its armory in Moyock, NC, and its employees lied to federal agents about guns they said they owned but were really gifts to the king of Jordan, the filings said.
“This company clearly violated US laws by exporting sensitive technical data and unauthorized defense services to a host of countries around the world,” Brock Nicholson, special agent in charge of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigations in North Carolina and two other states, said in a written statement.
Academi spokesman John Procter released a statement for the company saying the problems occurred under the previous owners.
The agreement with the government “is yet another step in our commitment to fairly resolve past issues and become the industry leader in governance, compliance, and regulatory matters,” the statement said.
Academi acknowledged “responsibility for the conduct” in its deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department.
Two years ago Blackwater, which also used the name Xe Services LLC, reached a $42 million settlement with the State Department for similar allegations.
The deal includes an acknowledgement of the conduct by the company, now under new ownership and known as Academi LLC.Known for helping to protect US government employees abroad, the company drew harsh international scrutiny for shootings and other conduct in Iraq. It said in a statement on Tuesday that it wants to resolve past issues and move on.
The US Justice Department accused the company of 17 criminal counts in connection with selling arms and owning illegal weapons, according to the documents that were unsealed in US District Court in New Bern, North Carolina.
But the Justice Department agreed to defer the prosecution so long as the company pays the fine to the US government, meets audit requirements and complies with export controls.
Academi’s violations were wide-ranging, prosecutors said.
The company sold satellite phones in Sudan in 2005 and proposed to provide security services there in 2006 without approval from the US State and Treasury departments, court filings said.
The company employed through a contractor people from Denmark and Sweden on a project to construct armored personnel carriers, provided military training to Canada and exported ammunition to Iraq and Afghanistan, all without the required US government permission, the filings said.
It also illegally kept automatic weapons, like the AK-47 machine gun, in its armory in Moyock, NC, and its employees lied to federal agents about guns they said they owned but were really gifts to the king of Jordan, the filings said.
“This company clearly violated US laws by exporting sensitive technical data and unauthorized defense services to a host of countries around the world,” Brock Nicholson, special agent in charge of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigations in North Carolina and two other states, said in a written statement.
Academi spokesman John Procter released a statement for the company saying the problems occurred under the previous owners.
The agreement with the government “is yet another step in our commitment to fairly resolve past issues and become the industry leader in governance, compliance, and regulatory matters,” the statement said.
Academi acknowledged “responsibility for the conduct” in its deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department.
Two years ago Blackwater, which also used the name Xe Services LLC, reached a $42 million settlement with the State Department for similar allegations.
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