Agility continues negotiations

Agility continues negotiations    Trading of stock for Agility, the Kuwait logistics company, remains suspended and the company said it has further delayed the release of its 2009 financial results until April 11, pending whether it can resolve ” a legal dispute with the U.S. government” over alleged overbilling of the U.S. military.
   On March 31 Agility, also known as Public Warehousing Co. (PWC), said its board of directors had decided to ask the Kuwait Stock Exchange to suspend trading in its shares and to delay the release of the full-year 2009 financial results until April 6, but on Tuesday it announced the further delay.
   The company said “no agreement has been reached to date and there is no guarantee that the discussions will result in an agreement.”
   The company has consistently declined to comment on any speculation about the talks.
   Last November, the Justice Department said it was joining a whistleblower suit against PWC, The Sultan Center Food Products Co. (TSC), and PWC's chief executive officer, Tarek Abbul Aziz Sultan Al-Essa, alleging they had violated the False Claims Act by presenting or causing others to present false claims for payment under PWC's multibillion-dollar contracts with the Defense Logistics Agency to supply food for U.S. service members serving in Kuwait, Iraq and Jordan.
   The complaint alleged that defendants knowingly overcharged the United States for locally available fresh fruits and vegetables that PWC purchased through TSC. The complaint also alleges that PWC failed to disclose and pass through rebates and discounts it obtained from its U.S.-based suppliers, as required by its contracts.
   In Georgia a grand jury also returned a six-count indictment against PWC in connection with its prime vendor contracts. ' Chris Dupin