Agility negotiates on U.S. fraud case

Agility negotiates on U.S. fraud case    The Kuwait Stock Exchange on Monday temporarily halted trading in shares of Agility pending clarification that the logistics firm is near a settlement with the U.S. government over allegations of fraud, but the company said no such arrangement has been made, according to Reuters.
   Several Kuwaiti newspapers reported that Agility was willing to pay $600 million to settle charges that it over-billed the Defense Department for supplying food and other material to troops in Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan. Negotiations are continuing, the company said.
   The Justice Department indicted Agility last month. If convicted, the company faces probation from future U.S. contracts and fines of up to twice the gains it realized or twice the amount the United States lost.
   Meanwhile, Agility said in a statement on the Dubai Stock Exchange that a merger with Qatar's Gulf Warehousing Co. should be complete in January, according to news reports from the Middle East. Talks about the merger were first announced in January 2009.