XE Services, the private security firm formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide, has reached a 42-million-dollar settlement with the US for export violations, the State Department said Monday, dpa reported.
The deal was agreed to on Wednesday. XE allegedly committed 288 violations related to the unauthorized export of defence equipment as well as the provision of defence services "to foreign end-users" in several countries between 2003 and 2009, the State Department said in a statement.
The violations "did not involve sensitive technologies or cause a known harm to national security," and took place when XE was working in support of US government programmes and military operations abroad.
The hundreds of violations cited against the firm included exporting illegal weapons to Afghanistan, providing sniper training to Taiwanese police and making unauthorized proposals to train troops in southern Sudan, the New York Times had reported last week.
The State Department noted that XE has taken several steps to address the causes of its violations and identify compliance problems. The company replaced senior management and in October 2008 established an independent Export Compliance Committee.
The deal enables the company to avoid criminal charges. But it continues to face other legal problems.
In April, the former president of the firm was indicted on federal weapons charges. Gary Jackson and four other executives face 15 charges related to possession of unregistered weapons, organizing "straw purchases" to acquire guns and falsifying government gun forms.
The charges include filing false forms after giving five guns as a gift to Jordanian officials. The US Justice Department stressed then that there had been no wrongdoing on the part of the Jordanians.
The North Carolina-based firm is contracted by the US State Department to provide private security to US personnel and diplomatic convoys in dangerous parts of the world.
The company has come under harsh scrutiny since a September 2007 shooting by Blackwater contractors that killed 17 civilians. It lost its contract in Iraq due to the incident.