Frontier Services Group founder Erik Prince denies knowledge of Xinjiang training base deal
- Security company publishes and the pulls announcement of agreement to build centre at industrial park in Tumxuk
Confusion reigned on Friday over whether a unit of Hong Kong-listed security firm Frontier Services Group – founded by Blackwater’s Erik Prince – had signed a preliminary memorandum to build a training base in China’s far west region of Xinjiang.
FSG earlier posted a statement on its website announcing that a memorandum was signed on January 11 between one of its units, FSG Security, and the Management Committee of Caohu Industrial Park in the city of Tumxuk, for the construction of a training centre.
The statement also had a photo of a signing ceremony in Beijing.
Prince, FSG’s executive director and deputy chairman, is a former US Navy Seal officer and the brother of US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
However, a spokesman of Prince later told Reuters that the co-founder had “no knowledge or involvement” in the memorandum.
“Any potential investment of this nature would require the knowledge and input of each FSG board member and a formal board resolution,” the spokesman said in an email.