GardaWorld

GardaWorld Corporation is a Canadian private security firm, headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, with 120,000 employees as of January 2022. Its U.S. business name is United American Security LLC, dba GardaWorld.

GardaWorld International Protective Services,[2] the international division of the company, began operations in 1984. GardaWorld Security Corporation was established as Trans-Québec Security Inc. by Stephan Crétier in 1995, who invested initially $25,000.[3] The company runs physical security guard services and armoured car services globally.[4]

History

During the mid-2000s, GardaWorld had a number of acquisitions, the one of which was a $391 million deal for the US security-oriented firm ATI Systems International, in which GardaWorld ended up suing ATI's former CEO for allegedly misrepresenting its financial situation, while the CEO sued for wrongful dismissal.[3]

Incidents

2020 investigation into armored truck crashes and deaths

A March 1, 2020 article by the Tampa Bay Times found the company engaged in a decade of dangerous behavior and its trucks frequently caused crashes: "At least 19 people have been killed in Garda crashes since 2008, three in 2019 alone."[10][11][12][13][14][15] Based in part on a former employee's documents and data (which GardaWorld has unsuccessfully argued was stolen from the company) and then used unsuccessfully in two dismissed lawsuits [16] and 90 interviews, 56 of them being current or former drivers, the article shows that Garda trucks frequently lacked reliable brakes, seat belts and sometimes even seats. The article also documents that drivers often received barely any training and said they were pressured to work long hours, even after repeated crashes.[10][17]

The GardaWorld database showed that during one period there were over 100 crashes on average monthly and that over a two-and-a-half-year period over 320 people were injured.[18] Additionally, the former employee alleges that GardaWorld offered to pay her to buy her silence, but that she chose not to accept money because: "I know I made the right decision by not accepting the money or signing a release. I believed in the truth prevailing – and am grateful to be able to share my story to help others."[19][20]

2021 Fall of Kabul

During the Fall of Kabul on 19 August, 2021, The Guardian reported that the 125 guards of the Embassy of the United Kingdom in Kabul employed by GardaWorld would not be offered asylum in the UK. They were told that they were not eligible because they “were not directly employed by her majesty’s government”. Meanwhile, over 100 guards of the Embassy of the United States in Kabul under a separate GardaWorld contract have been evacuated by the US.[21]

On August 27, it was reported that GardaWorld gathered 185 families who worked for the embassy, 1,000 people in total, in a failed attempt to evacuate them. GardaWorld committed to further attempts "once things calm down in the coming months."[22]

March 2024 heist

On March 31, 2024 (Easter Sunday), thieves stole $30 million USD from a GardaWorld cash storage facility at the 15000 block of Roxford Street in Sylmar, California.[23][24][25] Considered to be the work of sophisticated criminals, it is the largest cash heist in Los Angeles history.[26] The burglars entered through the roof, and cracked open a safe inside, before cutting a hole in the side of the building and leaving without anyone knowing what happened.[27][28][29] 30 million dollars likely weighs 7,500 pounds.

type	Private
genre	Security services
founder	Stephan Crétier
location	2300 Emile-Belanger Montreal Quebec Canada H4R 3J4
key people	CEO: Stephan Crétier President, GWFS: Pete Dordal
industry	Security & Protection Services and Cash Management Services
services	Security and Cash Services Solutions
revenue	$5.300 billion CAD (2023)‡R1R‡
num employees	122,000 (January 2020)