Agility says awards blocked due to U.S. charge

DUBAI Nov 17 (Reuters) - Kuwaiti logistics firm Agility (AGLT.KW) on Tuesday said a U.S. indictment would prevent it from getting contract awards until the issue was resolved but would not impair existing contracts with the U.S. government. On Monday, a U.S. grand jury indicted Public Warehousing Company, K.S.C. (PWC), also known as Agility, charges of fraud and conspiracy alleging that it overcharged the U.S. Army on $8.5 billion worth of contracts to provide food to soldiers in Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan. [ID:nN16518906]

"PWC has been debarred from future contract awards until such time as a determination has been made about the company's current responsibility as a contractor. These allegations should have no impact on any current contracts with the U.S. government," Agility said in a statement on the bourse website.

The grand jury in Atlanta indicted PWC on multiple charges of fraud and conspiracy in connection with contracts issued by the U.S. Department of Defense between 2003 and 2005.

"An indictment and a complaint are merely allegations. PWC is confident that once these allegations are examined in court, they will be found to be without merit," the Agility statement said.

(Reporting by Thomas Atkins; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

(Dubai Newsroom, +971 4 366 3222, dubai.newsroom@reuters.com)