Aegis Defence Services

Previously known as Aegis Specialist Risk Management. Now known as GardaWorld International Protective Services
Based in London, the company was founded by former Scots Guard Tim Spicer who made headlines with the Sandline affair when he was caught shipping 30 tonnes of arms to Sierra Leone in apparent violation of a UN weapons embargo and arrested in the 1997 abortive coup in Papua New Guinea. His friend and former Sandline business partner, the ex-SAS officer Simon Mann, also later made headlines for his role as manager of a thwarted coup plot in Equatorial Guinea in 2004. Frederick Forsyth, the author of Dogs of War, is an Aegis shareholder. 
In October 2015 Aegis was acquired by GardaWorld. Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, GardaWorld provides business solutions and security services and is the largest privately-owned security company in the world.
==Foundation==
Aegis was founded by Tim Spicer in late 2002.Robert Young Pelton, Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror, Crown, 2006, p.272.
==Iraq Contract - Project Matrix==
In March 2004, Aegis was awarded a $293 million dollar security contract in Iraq.Robert Young Pelton, Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror, Crown, 2006, p.272. This contract is known internally as Project Matrix.Steve Fanaru and Alec Klein, In Iraq, a Private Realm Of Intelligence-Gathering, Washington Post, 1 July 2007.
According to Naomi Klein, the CPA's Project Management Office contracted with the firm to protect its employees from "assassination, kidnapping, injury and "embarrassment." In a separate contract, the firm also provides security for employees working on the Iraqi Oil-for-Food corruption inquiry. 
Spicer told journalist Robert Young Pelton that he bid for the contract after finding the US government's request for proposal on the internet:
::However, multiple sources with intimate knowledge of Aegis's bid have alleged to me that PMO (Project Management Office) security chief Brigadier Anthony Hunter-Choat and Brigadier General James Ellery helped formulate the specifications for the RFP with Aegis in mind.Robert Young Pelton, Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror, Crown, 2006, p.277.
Acording to a former employee of the PMO interviewed by Pelton, Ellery advised Spicer throughout the process.Robert Young Pelton, Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror, Crown, 2006, p.279.
James Ellery was later employed at Aegis's Baghdad office. After the State Department demanded his dismissal, he left the country but was appointed to Aegis's board of directors.Robert Young Pelton, Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror, Crown, 2006, p.279.
The contract award was the subject of a protest by rival US security company DynCorp.Tony Geraghty, Guns For Hire: The Inside Story of Freelance Soldiering, Piatkus, 2007, p.31.
The firm employed 930 people in Iraq and besides coordinating communications between coalition forces, civilian contractors working on reconstruction projects, and their private security firms, it also provides bodyguards for senior American and Iraqi officials. It operates one national and six regional command-centres and acts as a link between coalition forces and civilian contractors on security issues, relaying information on rebel activity. [ref/date?]
==Employing ex-military from the controversial Deepcut barracks==
In April 2006 Aegis suspended, then sacked, British ex-staff sergeant Michael Dauscha from his £80,000-a-year Baghdad security post following allegations published by the Mirror newspaper related to an official inquiry into the Deepcut barracks. Pete Samson and Victoria Ward,
'Bully, thug, thief ..sex cheat - by brother of soldier accused over army hell; exclusive exposed: deepcut sergeant psycho', The Mirror, April 5, 2006 Pg 4. Deepcut Dossier; Exposed: Deepcut Sergeant psycho, The Mirror, April 5, 2006 Pg. 5 
Nicholas Blake QC’s damning Deepcut Review Report revealed ‘systemic failures’ in dealing with bullying complaints at the UK training base, although he did not name those involved. Nicholas Blake QC, ‘The Deepcut Review: A review of the circumstances surrounding the deaths of four soldiers at Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut between 1995 and 2002’. Return to an Address of the Honourable the House of Commons dated 29th March 2006. See p.24 on the reasoning behind Blake’s decision on anonymity. 
Former instructor Dauscha had previously served at Deepcut for 13 months from 1998 until February 1999. Blake's official review into the suspicious deaths of four teenage recruits there did not implicate him, and Dauscha was not present when they died.
The Mirror’s front-page story originally identified Dauscha as one ‘Sergeant BB’, against whom Blake had found evidence of misconduct. A Royal Military Police investigation had recommended 11 charges against Sgt BB - all rejected by the Army Prosecuting Authority - a decision at which Blake had expressed surprise in his review.See the Deepcut Review, pp 265-66 for Blake's view on the APA’s failure in this instance to consider the need to protect trainees from abuse: ‘The decision of the APA ‘prompts the question “who guards the guards?”’
The Mirror based its claims on an interview with Dauscha’s brother David, along with several testimonies from former recruits alleging that the former instructor had badly mistreated them. Pete Samson, '"He rode over me on a bike"; victims of Sgt psycho the overweight soldier ', The Mirror, April 6, 2006, Pg.5 David Dauscha subsequently complained to the Press Complaints Council (PCC) that the relevant article ‘was inaccurate when it stated that he had identified his brother Michael as the infamous Sergeant BB in relation to the Deepcut report’. Mr D K Dauscha, Publication Daily Mirror, Press Complaints Commission Report 73, Complaints dealt with during April 2006 – September 2006, p.39 The matter was resolved in June 2006 when the Mirror printed the following retraction:‎
:ALTHOUGH David Dauscha confirmed to us (which we reported) that his brother, Michael, was "a violent psycho and a bully who is capable of anything", he did not identify his brother as - and was not aware that he was - Sgt BB in relation to the Deepcut report, as we claimed (Page 4, April 5 and early editions Page 5, April 6). For the record, The Mirror, 7 June 2006 
This retraction replaced the original article, and remained online with the accompanying articles, including the testimonies by former recruits, for eight more years until March 2014, when they disappeared without explanation.
==Trophy videos in Iraq==
:Rod Stoner, a former British army officer and Aegis employee, who worked for the company between 2004 and 2005, posted videos on the internet implicating Aegis in shooting civilians in Iraq. According to a statement from Stoner, “We don’t know whether it was an innocent civilian or whether that was an insurgent—we don’t know, because we never stop.”
:The series of “trophy” videos appear to show security guards in Baghdad randomly shooting Iraqi civilians. All of the shooting incidents apparently took place on “Route Irish”, a road that links the airport to Baghdad.
:In one of the videos, a car is fired on at a distance of several hundred yards before it crashes into a taxi. In another, a white civilian car is raked with machine gun fire as it approaches an unidentified security company vehicle. Bullets can be seen hitting the car before it comes to a slow stop.
:Despite denying that the videos had anything to do with Aegis employees, the security company got a high court injunction last Friday against Stoner. This closed down the website and prohibited him from speaking to the press.Videos implicate Aegis Socialist Worker > archive > dated 15 April 2006 | issue 1996
==IPOA membership bid==
In November 2005 Aegis tried to join the International Peace Operations Association (IPOA), the only trade organization for security contractors. Aegis' membership bid comes just as the IPOA is trying to reposition the industry as for-profit providers of armed men as peacekeepers. The IPOA rejected Spicer's company in a vote. Spicer was 'surprised' by IPOA's initial rejection 'especially since we were invited to apply,' he said in a telephone interview with Corporate Watch in 2005.
==PR and lobbying firms==
Aegis are clients of The S.P.A. Way. a London-based PR firm run by Sara Pearson.The S.P.A. Way - Those Who Pay Us The company claims that it does not charge a fee unless its coverage meets three strict criteria, that it should: 
# Be an original piece set up by the Agency
# Be in the agreed media
# Carry a minimum of 2 of the 3 agreed messagesThe S.P.A. Way - Our Proposition
A great deal of coverage of Aegis in the UK media could arguably be seen as fitting these requirements. 
Pearson's association with Aegis boss Tim Spicer goes back to 1997 when the two were introduced through Michael Grunberg. Pearson hosted the press conference that took place on Spicer's return to Britain following the Sandline Affair in Papua New Guinea. Tim Spicer, An Unorthodox Soldier: Peace and War and the Sandline Affair, Mainstream Publishing, 2003, p187-188. 
==Move to Switzerland==
The Basler Zeitung reported on 9 August 2010, that Aegis had created a Swiss holding company based in Basel. The new company Aegis Group Holdings AG, had a capital of 225,000 Swiss Francs, and was headed by Kristian Meier.Britische Privatarmee gründet Holding-Sitz in Basel, Basler Zeitung, 9 August 2010.
The Associated Press report that Aegis' seven owners had swapped their stakes in the UK company for shares in the Basel-based vehicle.Associated Press, Report: Security firm Aegis creates Swiss holding, Business Week, 9 August 2010. 
David Isenberg reported for the Huffington Post:
::A source sent me the Share Exchange Agreement detailing the conversion of Aegis Defence Services to Aegis Group Holdings AG, which was signed by all parties,
::This is a straightforward share exchange whereby each of the shareholders has swapped their shares in the UK company for a new Swiss company set up to own the UK company. The SEA is the document which underlies the transfer of Aegis ownership and control "offshore" from the UK to Switzerland, presumably for tax efficiency. Assuming all operations, billings and management now takes place through the holding company, i.e., outside of UK tax jurisdiction and, reportedly, some of the shareholders have relocated to Switzerland for this purpose, then future profits will be subject to Swiss, not Uk taxes.David Isenberg, Making a PSC Profit, Huffington Post, 17 August 2010.
==People==
*Graham Binns - Chief executive
*Oona Muirhead - CBE. Previously worked in the UK MOD for 23 years. Joined Aegis as Advisor on Regulation, Standards and Compliance in September 2012, and chairs Aegis’s Quality Management Review Board. Oona represents Aegis at the Security in Complex Environments Group (SCEG) and was appointed onto the SCEG Executive Board in January 2013. Oona’s background is in defence, government relations and business support. 
*Graham Thomas - Managing director, Aegis Advisory
*Anna Hensel - Director, Oil and Gas. She is 'responsible for business development for high threat security and risk consulting services'. Has extensive experience in the oil and gas industry and has previously worked for Marathon Oil and Amoco, where she advised on global policy and commercial initiatives.
*Giles Harrison -Director Operations. Responsible for the delivery of Aegis security services globally. He was a colonel in the British Army, where he pursued a fast-track career. The highlights of his military career included managing a multi-stakeholder, multi-billion pound programme at the UK Ministry of Defence. [http://www.aegisworld.com/who-we-are/key-personalities/ Aegis World - Who we are, Aegis website, undated, acc 10 February 2014 
===Directors at 26 March 2010===
*Dominic Armstrong
*Paul Boateng - joined 2009, left ( year tbc)
*James Ellery
*Sir Graeme Lamb
*Jonathan Newman
*Nicholas SoamesAegis Defence Services Limited, Annual Return, Companies House, 23 April 2010. Chairman since 2010 to present.
===Shareholders in period up to to 26 March 2010===
*R. Sale - 0 ordinary shares held as at 26/03/2010. 13800 disposed of in period on 26/11/2008
*F Forsyth - 0 Ordinary shares held as at 26/03/2010. 414 disposed of in period on 26/11/2008.
*T. Pemberton and D. Pemberton - 0 ordinary shares held as at 26/03/2010. 13800 disposed of in period on 26/11/2008
*J Day Group Limited - 250000 shares held at 26/03/2010.
*Pershing Keen Nominees Ltd - 0 Ordinary shares held as at 26/03/2010. 13800 disposed of in period on 26/11/2008.
*Paragon Returns SDN BHD - 0 Ordinary shares held as at 26/03/2010. 13800 disposed of in period on 26/11/2008.
*Dominic Armstrong - 125000 ordinary shares held as at 26/03/2010.
*Mark Bullough - 25000 ordinary shares held as at 26/03/2010.
*A. Donovan and M. Donovan - 0 ordinary shares held as at 26/03/2010. 13800 disposed of in period on 26/11/2008.
*Lombard Atlantic Bank N.V. - 0 ordinary shares held as at 26/03/2010. 41400 disposed of in period on 26/11/2008.
*Royal Bank of Canada Trustees Ltd - 0 ordinary shares held as at 26/03/2010. 13800 disposed of in period on 26/11/2008.
*BAO Ltd - 0 ordinary shares held as at 26/03/2010. 13800 disposed of in period on 26/11/2008.
*C. Wood and M. Linsey - 0 ordinary shares held as at 26/03/2010. 13800 disposed of in period on 26/11/2008.
*A. Sladen - 0 ordinary shares held as at 26/03/2010. 13800 disposed of in period on 26/11/2008.
*Saad Investments Limited - 0 ordinary shares held as at 26/03/2010. 41400 disposed of in period on 26/11/2008.
*Timothy Spicer - 446200 ordinary shares held as 26/03/2010.
*John Birch - 10000 ordinary shares held as at 26/03/2010.
*Jeffrey Paul Arnold Day - 13800 ordinary shares held as at 26/03/2010.
*James William Marriott Ellery - 10000 ordinary shares held as at 26/03/2010.
*Peter Anthony Inge - 20000 ordinary shares held as at 26/03/2010.Aegis Defence Services Limited, Annual Return, Companies House, 23 April 2010.
===Former Directors===
* Field Marshal the Lord Inge KG GCB DL: Former Chairman (Non-executive)
* Keith Henry: Former Deputy Chairman (Non-executive)
* Lieutenant-Colonel Tim Spicer OBE: Chief Executive
* Mark Bullough: Former Director
* Jeffrey Day: Former Director
* David Miller: Former Finance Director
* General Sir Roger Wheeler: GCB CBE: Former Director (Non-executive)
* Sir John Birch KCVO CMG: Former Director (Non-executive)
* Robert McFarlane: Former Director (Non-executive)
* John Davidson: Former Director, Operations
* Richard Slowe: Former Director (Non-executive)
==Affiliations==
*British Association of Private Security Companies
*Defence Manufacturers' Association
*British Expertise
*Private Security Company Association of Iraq
==References, Resources and Contact==
==Contact==
*Website aegisworld.com
===Resources===
*SourceWatch Aegis Defence Services
*Pat Finucane Centre Aegis
*Mary Pat Flaherty, "Iraq Work Awarded to Veteran of Civil Wars" The Washington Post, 16 June 2004. 
*Tom Griffin, "Irish-Americans target Iraq contract" Asia Times, July 30, 2004.
*Jon Swain, "Making a killing", The Sunday Times, 23 October 2005.
*Jonathan Finer and Ellen Knickmeyer, "U.S. Military Probing Video Of Road Violence", Washington Post, 9 December 2005.
*Tracey Boles, "Dog of war builds £62m business on Iraq", The Sunday Times, 5 February 2006.
*Max Hastings, We must fight our instinctive distaste for mercenaries, The Guardian, 2 August 2006.
*War on Want Corporations and Conflict: Corporate Mercenaries General press release: 'CURB PRIVATE MILITARY FIRMS' CALL TO BLAIR' EMBARGO: 00.01 hrs, Monday 30 October 2006.
*Robert Baer, Iraq's Mercenary King, Vanity Fair, April 2007
*Alec Klein and Steve Fainaru, "Firms Protest Exclusion From Iraq Security Bid", Washington Post, 5 May 2007.
*Steve Fanaru and Alec Klein, In Iraq, a Private Realm Of Intelligence-Gathering, Washington Post, 1 July 2007.
*Alec Klein, For Security in Iraq, a Turn to British Know-How, Washington Post, 24 August 2007.
*Ewen MacAskill and Richard Norton-Taylor, Iraq's hired hands under fire as the pot of gold starts to run low, Guardian, 22 September 2007.
*Sylvia Pfeifer, Please respect FT.com's ts&cs and copyright policy which allow you to: share links; copy content for personal use; & redistribute limited extracts. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights or use this link to reference the article - http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f236ca0c-2e01-11de-9eba-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz1BoIfhZIk Aegis to help combat piracy off Somali coast, Financial Times, 21 April 2009.
*Jessica Dacey, Swiss fired up over arrival of mercenary firm, swissinfo.ch, 11 August 2010.
===References===
Category:Private Military CorporationsCategory:Security IndustryCategory:Arms Trade Revolving Door