United Technologies acknowledges coverup of sale of military software to China

The Washington Post  June 28, 2012

United Technologies, a major defense contractor, and two of its subsidiaries on Thursday acknowledged covering up the illicit sale of sensitive military software to China — technology that the country later used to develop its first attack helicopter.

Federal prosecutors announced criminal charges against the firms and a fine of more than $75 million for what they called a violation of U.S. export laws. Justice officials said the software sold to China posed a risk to American troops overseas and U.S. allies.

“The Justice Department will spare no effort to hold accountable those who compromise U.S. national security for the sake of profits and then lie about it to the government,” Lisa Monaco, the assistant attorney general for national security, said in a statement.

Connecticut-based United Technologies, which reported net sales of $58 billion in 2011, will pay the fine, along with Pratt & Whitney Canada and Hamilton Sundstrand Corp., as part of a settlement for lying to the government and delaying their disclosures about the illegal exports, officials said.

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Securitas Says China License Process Slows Nascent Guard Market

Bloomberg

Securitas AB, the world’s second- largest provider of security services, has faced more difficulties than it expected in China, which a year ago allowed private security companies to start operations, Chief Executive Office Alf Goeransson said.

“The ramp-up in China is going very slow, unfortunately,” Goeransson said in a telephone interview today. “We had much higher hopes.” He declined to specify his growth targets, saying “the goal is to significantly increase” the company’s presence in China.

Securitas has hired about 300 guards in China since the country opened up for private security services at the beginning of 2010, Goeransson said from his Stockholm headquarters. Securitas’s ambition to expand faster is being held back by local governments’ “cumbersome licensing process,” he said.

The security industry’s growth potential in China is “fantastic,” with likely room for 4 million security guards, many of whom would work for international companies, Goeransson said in an interview last May. China is part of Securitas’s strategy for expanding globally. It aims to extend its presence to about 60 countries from 45 in three years.

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