Erik Prince is an American businessman and former U.S. Navy SEAL officer, who is best recognized as the founder of the private military company Blackwater, which was involved in killing 17 Iraqi civilians and seriously injuring many. He sold the company amidst increased scrutiny by the American government and shifted to the United Arab Emirates where he offered private security services. He led the private equity firm Frontier Resource Group and served as chairman of the Hong Kong-listed Frontier Services Group until 2021. He was a part of a covert CIA task force to kill jihadists; was paid to support Chinese investments in Africa; negotiated foreign involvement by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Russia in the Trump campaign; aided widely discredited conservative organization Project Veritas in spreading misinformation; and helped Libyan militia leader Khalifa Haftar’s bid to overthrow the U.N.-backed government of Libya.
