(Nathan Hodge — Wall Street Journal)
Xe Services LLC, the private security firm formerly known as Blackwater, reached an agreement with the State Department to pay a multi-million-dollar fine over alleged violations of U.S. export-control law.
The agreement spares the firm from possible criminal charges over allegations that it violated arms export restrictions, and allows the company to continue doing business with the U.S. government.
Among other things, the company was said to have proposed a package to train and equip the armed forces of southern Sudan, which emerged as an autonomous region after a U.S.-brokered peace deal in 2005. McClatchy newspapers reported details of Xe's Sudan business aspirations, which were said to include a proposal to train a security detail for south Sudanese leadership and a more ambitious deal worth $100 million to train and equip the south's army. Xe was under scrutiny for other alleged export violations. Read more here.
