Boeing will pay more than $2.5 billion in an agreement with the Department of Justice to resolve a criminal charge of defrauding the Federal Aviation Administration over the 737 Max airplane.
The Justice Department announced the charges and fine, which were part of a deferred prosecution agreement, on Thursday. Under the settlement, Boeing will pay a total criminal monetary amount of more than $2.5 billion. That sum includes:
- A criminal monetary penalty of $243.6 million.
- Compensation to Boeing 737 Max customers of $1.77 billion.
- And a $500 million crash-victim beneficiaries fund for heirs, relatives and beneficiaries of the 346 passengers who died in the Boeing 737 MAX crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.
“The misleading statements, half-truths, and omissions communicated by Boeing employees to the FAA impeded the government’s ability to ensure the safety of the flying public,” US Attorney Erin Nealy Cox said in a statement. “This case sends a clear message: The Department of Justice will hold manufacturers like Boeing accountable for defrauding regulators – especially in industries where the stakes are this high.”
Boeing and its customers have resumed flying the 737 Max with more flights being added throughout 2021.
