Late on Sunday (7th of July), Boeing agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge relating to the two 737 MAX fatal crashes.
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Stole someone’s thoughts/ideas? $958 million
In 2006, Boeing paid $615m in fines for trade secret theft and the 2001 Air Force leasing tanker scandal. That’s worth more than $958m today. It was up to then the largest fine for a defense contractor.
Bribery/export violations? $620 million
In 2020, Airbus paid the Justice Department $527m in fines ($620m in today’s dollars) for violating bribery and US ITAR regulations. ITAR restricts technology transfers.
346 people killed? $539 million (spread across three years)
$487.2m in fines in two tranches ($539.2m adjusted for inflation).
Some victim families asked DOJ to ask for 24 billion. Others wanted management to face manslaughter charges, but corporations owns America, so that will never happen.
I agree with the families; This deal is absurdly good for Boeing. Too good.
Compared to past fines, and their income; that fine is insultingly low. Low enough that it can be burried in an expense report and forgotten about.
Then there’s the ‘felony’ conviction that’s already planned to be hand waved away to allow Boeing to continue their various government/military contracts unimpeded…
I’m certainly not going to hold my breath hoping for meaningful results out of the court-appointed monitor. It’s easy enough to posture up while/where you know you’re being watched; then let it all fall back to shit as soon as you’re clear again.
