The families of the victims of two 737 MAX plane crashes are asking the US Department of Justice to seek to fine the American company Boeing about $25 billion, saying that the company committed “the most deadly corporate crime in the history of the United States.”
Lawyer Paul Cassel, who represents 15 of the victims’ families, said in a letter to the Ministry of Justice yesterday, Wednesday, that the amount was “clearly legally justified and appropriate,” according to Bloomberg.
Violation of agreement
Cassell indicated that between $14 billion and $22 billion of the total amount could be suspended if Boeing allocates those funds to an independent corporate monitor and to improve its safety programs.
Boeing’s market value reached $107.35 billion, at the time of preparing the report, according to the company’s website.
This comes a day after the company’s CEO, Dave Calhoun, faced harsh questioning by US Senators, as they called on the company to fix its “flawed safety culture.”
Last May, the Justice Department accused Boeing of violating a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement that protects the company from a criminal charge of conspiracy to commit fraud stemming from fatal accidents when two planes crashed in Ethiopia and Indonesia in 2018 and 2019. The two accidents caused the death of 346 people, and resulted in the best-selling aircraft worldwide being grounded for 20 months.
Boeing informed the US government last week that it had not violated the agreement, and federal prosecutors have until July 7 to inform a federal judge in Texas of their plans, which could include moving forward with a criminal case or negotiating a plea agreement with Boeing.
The Department of Justice can also extend the deferred prosecution agreement for one year.
Constant problems
Justice Department officials found that Boeing violated the deferred prosecution agreement after a door exploded on a new Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 plane on January 5, just two days before the 2021 agreement expired.
The company has lost $46.44 billion since the accident last January, with its market value at the time reaching $152.86 billion.
The accident revealed continuing safety and quality problems at Boeing.
The families said in the letter that Boeing’s board of directors should be ordered to meet with them, calling on the ministry to “initiate criminal prosecutions of company officials.”
The letter noted that Senator Richard Blumenthal, who chairs the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and held a hearing with Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun, said, “There is almost overwhelming evidence in my view as a former prosecutor that a prosecution should be pursued.”
It is noteworthy that the company’s sales amounted to $16.56 billion in the first quarter of the current year, while it achieved a net loss of $355 million, according to its financial statements.
