San Francisco, June 30 (Xinhua) - According to US media reports, the US Department of Justice submitted an agreement to Boeing on June 30 local time regarding two serious air accidents, urging them to admit to fraud or face criminal prosecution.
The New York Times reported that two lawyers representing the families of the victims of the air crash said on the 30th that before submitting the plea agreement to Boeing, the Department of Justice disclosed the details of the agreement to the families of the victims. The plea agreement includes provisions such as a fine of nearly $244 million, a new round of investment in security improvements, and agreeing to a three-year review of the company by external supervisors. Officials told the families of the victims that Boeing will decide whether to accept the agreement within a week.
In October 2018 and March 2019, there were air crashes on flights of Lion Air Indonesia and Ethiopian Airlines, resulting in a total of 346 fatalities. The crashed planes were both Boeing 737 MAX8 aircraft.
In January 2021, the US Department of Justice filed a criminal lawsuit against Boeing, and the two sides reached an agreement to extend the prosecution. Boeing agrees to pay fines and compensation exceeding $2.5 billion, and promises to cooperate fully to implement compliance and improvement plans as required. The deferred prosecution agreement expired on January 7th this year. Boeing needs to prove to the Department of Justice that it has complied with the terms of the agreement, and the Department of Justice will evaluate and decide whether to waive prosecution.
On May 14th this year, the US Department of Justice submitted a letter to the Federal Court of Texas stating that Boeing had violated the deferred prosecution agreement reached in 2021. Boeing subsequently stated that it did not violate the agreement. The Ministry of Justice will inform the court before July 7th whether to sue Boeing.
The National Broadcasting Corporation reported that it is not yet clear whether Boeing will accept the plea agreement, which may have an impact on its ability to obtain government contracts. Lawyer Paul Kassel, representing the families of 15 victims, stated that the victim's family will "strongly oppose" the plea agreement. (End)