(Reuters) – Hong Kong-based Frontier Services Group Ltd on Tuesday denied allegations it provided training to Chinese military pilots using Western and NATO personnel, adding it was unaware of any reason for its inclusion in an export control list.

The security and aviation company, previously run by Blackwater founder Erik Prince, was added to an export control list by the Bureau of Industry and Security of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“We have never been contacted by the Bureau,” Frontier said in a statement.

“We would like to reiterate that since Mr. Prince’s resignation, he has not been involved in any of the Group’s business activities, and there is no ongoing relationship between Mr. Prince and the Group,” it said.

Frontier also clarified that Prince did not own more than a 5% stake in the company.

The Biden administration on Monday added 43 entities, 31 of which were Chinese, to an export control list, restricting them from receiving U.S. exports for activities deemed contrary to U.S. interests.

The list also included companies that acquired U.S.-origin items in support of China’s military modernization such as hypersonic weapons development and hypersonic flight modeling, the Commerce Department had said.

(Reporting by Harish Sridharan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)

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