The U.S. Justice Department states that Boeing violated its commitments under a 2021 agreement, which had shielded the company from criminal prosecution after the deadly 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that resulted in 346 fatalities.
In a letter to a Texas judge, the Justice Department revealed that Boeing failed to “design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program” to prevent violations of U.S. fraud laws. This finding, disclosed in a court filing late Tuesday, suggests that Boeing could now face prosecution it had previously avoided. Such a development could lead to new penalties and exacerbate an ongoing corporate crisis that has already led to a management shakeup and multiple government investigations.
Boeing confirmed receiving notice from the Justice Department regarding its determination that the company failed to meet its obligations under the 2021 deferred prosecution agreement. Boeing plans to respond to the notice, stating, “We believe that we have honored the terms of that agreement and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Department on this issue. As we do so, we will engage with the Department with the utmost transparency.”
