The US justice department is expected to allow the planemaker Boeing to escape criminal prosecution for violating the terms of a 2021 settlement related to the fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019, the New York Times reported on Friday.
The department plans to offer Boeing a deferred prosecution agreement, which requires the company to install a federal monitor to oversee safety improvements, the Times reported, citing people familiar with the situation.
The US government is expected to extend its settlement offer to the planemaker before the end of the month, the report said. Boeing was not immediately available for comment, and a spokesperson for the justice department declined to comment.
Reuters could not independently verify the report. Boeing shares were flat in afternoon trading.
In May, the Department of Justice said Boeing failed to “design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program” to prevent violations of US fraud laws. Boeing in January 2021 agreed with the justice department to pay $2.5bn to resolve a criminal investigation into the company’s conduct surrounding the fatal crashes.
The agreement included money to compensate victims’ relatives and required Boeing to overhaul its compliance practices.
Had the justice department wanted, it could have charged the company criminally, which could have affected the planemaker’s ability to secure government contracts, according to a Reuters review of prosecutors’ actions following findings that companies violated other similar agreements.
But after an intense internal debate, department officials appear to have concluded that prosecuting Boeing would be too legally risky, according to the New York Times report on Friday.
Any justice department move to not prosecute Boeing will bring some relief to the beleaguered planemaker, which has been engulfed in a crisis since the 5 January accident involving a 737 Max 9 jet. Boeing shares have slumped over 30% this year.
Relatives of the victims of the fatal 737 Max crashes asked the justice department on Wednesday to seek a fine against the planemaker of nearly $25bn and move forward with a criminal prosecution.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, who chairs the Senate’s permanent subcommittee on investigations and held a hearing with Boeing’s CEO, Dave Calhoun, on Tuesday, said there “is near overwhelming evidence in my view as a former prosecutor that prosecution should be pursued”.