Academi

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Mistrial Declared for Former Blackwater Sniper

Nicholas Slatten was accused of massacring Iraqi civilians

(Newser) - The second trial of a former Blackwater sniper accused of firing the first shots in what prosecutors described as an unprovoked massacre of Iraqi civilians at a Baghdad intersection ended in a mistrial Wednesday. US District Judge Royce C. Lamberth declared a mistrial in the Nicholas Slatten case after the...

Ex-Blackwater Firm Makes Millions in Futile Fight on Afghan Drugs

Guardian: Academi pulled in $569M to kill Afghan narcotics industry, which is thriving

(Newser) - The company formerly known as Blackwater has pulled in a pretty penny from US taxpayers in its Pentagon-supported drive to flush out the Afghan narcotics industry: Nearly $570 million from fiscal 2002 to September 2013 was funneled to the firm now known as Academi—about 32% of the $1.8...

Blackwater Pays $7.5M to Settle Arms Case

Feds accused firm of rogue arms, technology trading

(Newser) - The company that used to call itself Blackwater has agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle allegations of illegal arms and technology trafficking. Investigators charged the company—which changed its name to Xe and then to Academi —with 17 violations, including illegally possessing unregistered automatic weapons, lying to...

Blackwater, Er, We Mean Xe, Changes Name Again

CEO says 'Academi' will strive to be 'boring'

(Newser) - Blackwater's attempt to scrub clean its image by rebranding itself as Xe Services didn't really throw anyone off the scent—it was forever identified as "the company formerly known as Blackwater"—so now the company is trying again. Today, it will formally announce its new name,...

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