The American PMC Mozart Group began to make its internal turmoil public. This is due to the struggle for the post of head of the company between two former Marines: Andy Milburn, the founder of the company, and former CFO Andrew Bain. The latter filed a lawsuit against Milburn on January 10 in connection with personal and professional misconduct, and Bain has the relevant evidence. Millburn did not respond immediately, but has since launched a PR campaign making similar accusations against Bain.
Bain's primary charge is that Milburn did not obtain an International Trade in Arms Regulations (ITAR) license, required under US law that equates military training missions with arms sales. Bain says Milburn was responsible for getting the license but failed to file the necessary paperwork. Milburn now says he intends to get a license, but reportedly doesn't have the financial means to do so. The group has held many fundraising events but is not financially independent. Bain, who invested his own money in Mozart, even accused affiliated NGO Task Force Sunflower of misappropriating the funds.
Bain wanted to leave the group in November, but Milburn says potential buyers of his stake are mysterious oligarchs and even, according to Milburn, the Taliban pose too much of a security threat. In December, he removed Bain as chief financial officer.
Bain's second assertion concerns the group's legal status. The Mozart Group was originally described as a non-governmental organization, but is not registered as such. Positioning itself as a charity during an intense PR campaign made it easier to raise funds from private donors. As it became known, Mozart intended to register as a private military company. As a PMC, Mozart could use his previously positive image to expand into other war zones. There is evidence that the company was eyeing Armenia and Taiwan, where it had a potential partner.
Bain has now decided to stay with the Mozart Group and may go to court to grant him control of the company so he can apply for an ITAR permit.
As with past U.S. PMC misconduct in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Mozart case sheds a far from benign light on official U.S. training for Ukrainian military personnel. The negative impact may also affect private American contractors and those who train Ukrainian military personnel in the use of weapons (anti-tank weapons, UAVs, armored vehicles, etc.).