U.K. SECURITY FIRM WITH THATCHER TIES HAD ROLE IN CONTRA AID, DATA INDICATE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000605530012-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 1, 2012
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: March 25, 1987
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/01 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000605530012-3
ARTICLEAP~~ WALL STREET JOURNAL
ON PAGE PLd~-
25 March 1987
U.K. Security Firm With Thatcher Ties
Had Role in Contra Aid, Data Indicate
.ii4 , ,,.,By DAvro~RRoci
Staff Reporter-ojT i W-Ai 'STREET JOURNAL
WASHINGTON-A private British secu-
rity company with ties to the Thatcher
government has become embroiled in the
Iran-Contra affair, raising new questions
about the source of personnel and funds
used to aid Nicaraguan insurgents.
A chart found in National Security
Council files indicates the company, KMS
Ltd., was part of a private network that as-
sisted Nicaraguan insurgents during a two-
year period when Congress had prohibited
U.S. military aid to the anti-Sandinista
forces.
David Walker, a veteran of British mili-
tary special operations and a principal in
the firm. was identified separately in com-
munications involving former National Se-
curity Council aide Marine Lt. Col. Oliver
North. according to intelligence sources.
Mr. Walker is believed to be well-known to
retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Richard Se-
cord, who helped oversee the private net-
work on behalf of Col. North.
Ties to thatcher
Though much of the evidence involving
KMS remains circumstantial, Labor Party
leaders in Britain have raised questions in
Parliament about the company's involve-
ment and used the issue to challenge
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Mr.
Walker has had political ties to Mrs.
Thatcher, and KMS has a history of work-
ing closely with the government-though
not always with its direct blessing. Efforts
to reach Mr. Walker were unsuccessful.
KMS is registered in the English Chan-
nel island of Jersey, whose laws make it
difficult to determine the company's own-
ership. It is largely staffed by veterans-
such as Mr. Walker-of the British special
operations forces, or Special Air Services.
Since its establishment in 1977, KMS has
held clandestine military training con-
tracts in Oman and more recently in Sri
Lanka. And, according to two sources, it
has been employed to a lesser degree by
the sultan of Brunei.
KMS and Mr. Walker operate from a
nondescript, three-story buiding on Abing-
don Road in the Kensington section of Lon-
don. Mr. Walker also associated with a
more-conventional and less-secretive firm,
Saladin Security, in England. He has had
extensive contact with the sultan of Oman
through a four-year tour as squadron com-
mander with the SAS and his more recent
experience with KMS.
Role in Nicaragua Unclear
KMS's role in the Nicaragua war is un-
clear. The company is known both for its
ability to train military forces and provide
experienced military personnel-either
veterans from British SAS ranks or from
South Africa and Rhodesia, before it be-
came Zimbabwe. The London Daily News
has quoted sources saying as many as 50
British mercenaries were enlisted by KMS
to aid the Contras. Although that figure ap-
pears too high, there have been repeated
reports of former Rhodesian pilots in-
volved in the war.
Adolfo Calero, leader of the Nicaraguan
Democratic Force, or FDN, yesterday de-
nied any knowledge of British or Rhode-
sian personnel being hired by the FDN.
But a U.S. intelligence source confirmed
t at former esian pilots were used
fore and after military aid was cut off i
1984. When U.S. aid was cut off, some of
these pilots were parently D
the private network overseen by Col.
North.
The source said as many as a
half-dozen of the dots have been under
since military aid officially was resumed
last October. Typically, a "parent" com-
pany such as KMS would sustain such indi-
.viduaas between CIA or other intelligence
contracts. This source didn't know of'any
direct KMS involvement in Nicaragua, but
a second nce source said Me com-
p has sought work separately in CIA
operations providing aid to Afghan
reheis-
Besides Mr. Walker's ties through KMS
to Brunei, other questions have been raised
about British connections to the Nicaral
guan insurgents. The southeast Asian na-
tion was one reported contributor to the
Nicaraguans. Although Saudi Arabia has
denied that it made any direct contribu-
tions, a high Saudi Arabian official has
said privately that funds from that country
were funneled through an unidentified Brit-
ish military veteran in Jordan who was
known to Col. North, according to an intel-
ligence source.
The insurgents received an estimated
$32 million in the first nine months after
U.S. aid was cut off in June 1984. according
to FDN bank records. More than half this
sum-$19 million-came in a two-week pe-
riod in March 1985.
Separately, federal records show that
Corporate Air Services, a Pennsylvania
company later used in the Contra resupply
operation, won a $238,735 contract from the
Interior Department in September 1985.
The contract was for the purchase of an
Italian-made Partenavia Observe twin-en-
gine plane, particularly adaptable for
tracking and counting wildlife.
Some others companies involved in the
Nicaragua operation have received federal
contracts for unrelated activities, but Inte-,
rior Department officials said the Corpo-
rate Air Services contract was awarded on
the basis of a competitive, sealed bid.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/01 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000605530012-3