The U.S. Department of Justice plans to bring criminal charges against Boeing Co. for violating settlement agreements related to two fatal crashes 737 Max jetliner crashesaccording to reports Burundi and Reuters. The federal government is reportedly seeking a guilty plea from Boeing that could include a $243.6 million criminal fine and force the planemaker to set up an independent compliance monitoring agency.
Before Boeing reached a settlement agreement with the Department of Justice, a crash occurred in Indonesia in 2017, killing all 189 people on board; and a crash occurred in Ethiopia in 2018, killing all 157 people on board. despite objections Some lawmakers and relatives of those killed in the incident said Boeing $2.5 billion settlement reached In 2021, it was temporarily protected from criminal prosecution. The agreement requires the planemaker to report evidence and allegations of fraud and “enhance its compliance program,” the Justice Department said at the time.
Then, in January, a team blew up a Boeing plane operated by Alaska Airlines, exposing the company’s ongoing safety and compliance issues. Four months later, the federal government said in a court filing that Boeing Breach of 2021 Agreement Failure to “design, implement and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of U.S. fraud laws throughout its operations.”
The U.S. Department of Justice has now decided to file criminal charges against Boeing and wants the plane maker to accept a plea deal, according to multiple reports. Such a deal would include about $2.5 billion in additional fines, according to Bloomberg; it could also force Boeing to bring in independent oversight bodies to ensure the company complies with anti-fraud laws. AP News.
The U.S. Department of Justice notified families and attorneys of 737 Max crash victims of the plea deal on Sunday and said it would give the plane maker a week to decide whether to accept the offer or argue it in court. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reports.
