The US Department of Justice announced on Sunday that Boeing is about to plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge related to two Boeing plane crashes in 2018 and 2019.
Federal prosecutors in the United States have accused Boeing of failing to comply with the deferred prosecution agreement and conducting strict security checks, leading to a series of quality issues that have erupted since January this year. The prosecutor provided Boeing with two options: either plead guilty and pay a fine, or be charged with a serious crime of conspiracy to commit fraud.
At present, Boeing will plead guilty and pay fines to avoid criminal prosecution, but the plea agreement still needs to be approved by a US federal judge before it can take effect. According to the principle agreement reached, Boeing will face a maximum criminal fine of $487.2 million, but the Department of Justice stated that the actual amount will be determined by the judge.
According to an agreement submitted to the court, the Department of Justice requires the court to include the fines previously paid by Boeing. If this action is approved, the actual amount of new fines that Boeing will pay will be reduced to $243.6 million.
In addition to fines, Boeing may also be forced to undergo regulatory procedures and spend at least $455 million over the next three years to build its compliance and safety processes. But all details must be approved by the court. The final plea agreement between the Department of Justice and Boeing is expected to be officially submitted for court review before July 19th.
The families of the victims strongly protested
Two aviation accidents in 2018 and 2019 resulted in 346 deaths, and Boeing, which was in a whirlpool, was ultimately exempt from criminal prosecution due to a deferred prosecution agreement. But in May this year, the US Department of Justice ruled that Boeing had once again violated the deferred prosecution agreement and would face criminal prosecution.
After reaching a deferred prosecution agreement, Boeing had already paid a criminal fine of $243.6 million and promised to improve its internal security control procedures in exchange for the US Department of Justice withdrawing criminal charges against the company's plane crash three years later. The agreement was reached in 2021, but was on the verge of success this year.
However, the latest massive plea agreement cannot make the families of the victims buy it. The families of the victims of the air crash quickly submitted a notice after the Ministry of Justice declared their opposition to the plea agreement.
Kreindler, representing the families of the victims; Erin Applebaum, a partner at Kreindler LLP law firm, expressed disappointment with the US Department of Justice's insistence on pushing for this plea agreement despite opposition from the families of the victims.
She further pointed out that although Boeing will have to accept third-party supervision, the entire plea agreement is just a minor punishment and will not have much impact on improving Boeing's internal governance.
In addition to negotiations with the Department of Justice, Boeing is also facing an investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the US Congress, and the Seattle Regional Grand Jury into the catastrophic accident of an Alaska Airlines Boeing aircraft in January this year.
The continuous legal issues are a headache, and Boeing itself still faces significant management challenges. It is currently looking for a new CEO to clean up its business, but according to multiple media reports, there is hardly any professional manager in the US corporate world willing to take on this mess.