How a Bar Owner in Kyrgyzstan Ended up with $7 Billion in U.S. Defense Contracts

How a Bar Owner in Kyrgyzstan Ended up with $7 Billion in U.S. Defense Contracts

The Pentagon needs to be audited up to its eyeballs.

How a Pentagon contractor built a global empire — and a massive tax evasion scheme Douglas Edelman rose from owning a bar in Kyrgyzstan to winning $7 billion in defense contracts, only to plead guilty this week to hiding his fortune from U.S. tax authorit

A case that the Justice Department has described as one of the largest tax evasion prosecutions in U.S. history culminated on Wednesday with businessman Douglas Edelman pleading guilty in a Washington courtroom to conspiracy and making false statements to U.S. authorities, along with several other criminal charges. For nearly two decades, the California-born businessman sat atop a near-invisible corporate empire that received more than $7 billio…

Pentagon Contractor’s $7 Billion Tax Scheme Unravels in Historic Guilty Plea Pentagon Contractor’s $7 Billion Tax Scheme Unravels in Historic Guilty Plea

The Douglas Edelman Case Douglas Edelman’s journey from running a bar in Kyrgyzstan to becoming the center of one of America’s largest tax evasion prosecutions reads like a thriller novel, except the consequences are very real. The 73-year-old California-born businessman pleaded guilty on May 21 in a Washington courtroom to conspiracy and making false statements […] The post Pentagon Contractor’s $7 Billion Tax Scheme Unravels in Historic Guilty…