US prosecutors seek fraud charge launch against Agility

US FEDERAL prosecutors have asked an Atlanta judge to proceed with fraud charges against Kuwaiti logistics firm Agility for allegedly inflating prices and defrauding the US Government of US$68 million while supplying troops in Kuwait, Iraq and Jordan.

Agility said the case is a non-criminal contract dispute and that it remains "committed to discussions with the Justice Department".

"PWC [Public Warehousing Company now part of Agility] has passed dozens of audits, inspections, compliance reviews and oversight procedures. The company continues to be accountable to its US government customers, and to troops and taxpayers every day," Agility said in its pre-trial motion.

Agility asked the court to dismiss the case because it had not been served legally, reported London's International Freighting Weekly. But prosecutors asked the court to ignore the Agility motion, claiming: "PWC is a fugitive from American justice and the court should not entertain its motion."

Said Agility: "The question before the court is whether the Justice Department complied with US law. The department's filing today substitutes rhetoric for legal analysis, and provides no justification for its decision to ignore longstanding US law on proper service of process.

"For seven years, PWC has fully performed its contracts with the US government to feed troops in Iraq and Kuwait, and the US government has repeatedly recognised PWC for excellent performance under the most difficult wartime conditions," said Agility.
(source:www.schednet.com)