Agility charged with fraud against US Army

AGILITY, the Kuwaiti forwarding company, has been charged with fraud against the US military. The US government alleges that over a 41-month period that Agility – trading under its old name of Public Warehousing Company (PWC) – overcharged the US Army out of US$60 million on a series of food supply contracts worth $8.5 billion.The lawyer for the prosecution, Gentry Shelnutt said: “The indictment alleges PWC submitted false information and manipulated prices to overcharge for food. This indictment is only the first step. Our investigation of entities and persons who have defrauded the United States and our military is ongoing.”The company has been temporarily suspended from bidding for new US government contracts pending the completion of the investigation, but it is allowed to finish those contracts it is currently operating.Agility is the primary supplier of food to the US military in Kuwait and Iraq. Currently, 37 per cent of the group’s pre-tax revenues come from the US government so its suspension and possible permanent debarring from future contracts is serious blow to its fortunes. Not only that but according to Shelnutt, if Agility is convicted it faces a fine of up to twice the amount it fraudulently gained.However, Agility is adamant that the charges are unsubstantiated and that they come from a known enemy of the company.“The court documents filed in the United States reveal that the investigation leading to the indictment and the False Claims Act lawsuit was instigated by Kamal Mustafa Sultan, owner of Kamal Mustafa Sultan Company, who has a long history of strong animosity towards PWC, its officers and its employees,” said Agility, suggesting that Sultan has a financial interest in the outcome of the case. “Kamal Mustafa Sultan has filed more than 40 court actions against PWC, its executives and its employees, and all of the court actions have been unsuccessful.”