WASHINGTON (AFP) – The private security company formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide agreed to pay a 42 million dollar fine for violating U.S. export regulations, The New York Times reported late Friday.

Blackwater, which changed its name to Xe in 2009, gained notoriety in Iraq after guards protecting a convoy opened fire in a busy Baghdad square in September 2007, killing as many as 17 civilians.
The fine is relating to hundreds of violations, including illegal weapons exports to Afghanistan and providing sniper training for Taiwanese police officers, the Times reported, citing unnamed company and government officials familiar with the deal.
The unannounced settlement comes after lengthy talks between Xe and State Department lawyers that allowed the company to avoid criminal charges, the Times said.
""I have no immediate confirmation,"" State Department spokesman Darby Holladay told AFP when asked about the report.
Five executives from the controversial company still face indictment on weapons charges, while at least two ex-employees face murder charges after two Afghans died in Kabul in May 2009.
Paying the fines will allow Xe to continue to compete for government contracts, the Times said.
Blackwater ""also shipped automatic weapons and other military equipment for use by its personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan in violation of export controls, and in some cases sought to hide its actions,"" the Times said.
In late June, CIA chief Leon Panetta defended his agency's 100-million-dollar contract with Xe, saying the company provided needed security services in war zones and had underbid other competitors.
The CIA inked the deal after the U.S. State Department in mid-June awarded Xe a security services contract worth some 120 million dollars for work in Afghanistan.
Blackwater was founded in 1997 by former U.S. Navy Seal Erik Prince. It rose to become the largest private security firm used by the U.S. authorities in Iraq.