Whistleblowers Say ArmorGroup Involved In Fraud, Prostitution

Former employees of ArmorGroup, the British firm that hold a State Department contract to protect the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, have revealed that the company is involved in a number of illegal practices, sometimes with State Department knowledge. In a press conference involving their unlawful termination lawsuit against ArmorGroup, former senior company officials said the company is responsible for widespread fraud; using non-English-speaking guards at the expensive of embassy security; operating a shell corporation to obtain contracts meant for American companies; and even prostitution.

ArmorGroup came under fire last week when reports and photos of hazings, public nudity, and other "Lord of the Flies"-type behavior among guards in Kabul were released to the public. The Project on Government Oversight, which informed the State Department of the guards' antics, also detailed accusations of fraud in ArmorGroup's $189 million contract.

In their statement Friday, the former officials said the company dramatically underbids its contracts, and intentionally used (non-English-speaking) Nepalese guards to cover its tracks, which immediately compromised the security of the embassy. (The company's predecessor lost its contract over a similar offense.) Most startling of all, the former employees said they knew of brothels being kept in Kabul, stocked with enslaved girls brought from China for sexual exploitation.

Whistleblowers Unveil More ArmorGroup Allegations [Washington Independent]