History
FSG was initially a Bermuda-registered electronics company called "DVN Holdings Limited". DVN was renamed to FSG in January 2014 to reflect its change in direction.[7]
In May 2014, it was reported that Prince's plan to build a diesel refinery in South Sudan, in which $10 million had already been invested, was suspended. The halted refinery project was reported to be supported personally by the country's president, Salva Kiir Mayardit. Frontier Services Group was reported to be paid $23.3 million by South Sudan's Ministry of Petroleum to transport supplies and perform maintenance on oil production facilities.[8]
As part of Prince's Africa-focused investment strategy, Frontier Services Group purchased stakes in two Kenyan aviation companies, Kijipwa Aviation and Phoenix Aviation, to provide logistics services for the country's oil and gas industry.[9] In October 2014, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority denied Kijipwa Aviation an aviation license renewal.[10][11][12]
Prince also purchased a 25% stake in Austrian aviation company Airborne Technologies. In 2014, Prince commissioned the company to modify Thrush 510G crop-dusters with surveillance equipment, machine guns, armor, and other weapons, including custom pylons that could mount either NATO or Russian ballistics.[13] One of the modified crop-dusters was delivered to Salva Kiir Mayardit's forces in South Sudan shortly before a contract with Frontier Services Group was cancelled. Frontier Services Group owns two of the modified Thrush 510Gs, but since executives learned the craft had been weaponized by Prince, the company has declined to sell or use the aircraft to avoid violating U.S. export controls.[14]
In December 2016, FSG announced its plans to set up a “forward operating base” in Yunnan to provide logistics and unarmed security training services to facilitate One Belt, One Road-related projects in Southeast Asia.[15]
In May 2017, FSG acquired 25% of a Chinese private security training school called International Security and Defense College (ISDC).[16] FSG has since overseen the school's program of training "overseas security specialists".[17]
FSG announced plans to work with Mozambique hidden-debt companies in December 2017.[18] FSG established operations in Iraq in 2018.[19]
In 2019, FSG signed contracts to support China's Belt and Road Initiative, including building a series of bases in China's Xinjiang, where the internment camps of ethnic Uyghurs attracted widespread allegations of human rights abuse.[20][21] Chinese Communist Party officials in Xinjiang reported that FSG's work would enhance the paramilitary Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.[21] FSG's CEO, Dongyi Hua, was the key driver in investing the re-education camps.
Effective April 13, 2021, Erik Prince resigned from his positions as executive director and deputy chairman of the company.[22][23]
U.S. sanctions
In June 2023, the United States Department of Commerce added Frontier Services Group to the Bureau of Industry and Security's Entity List due to its training and support of the People's Liberation Army.[24]
