Families of Boeing 737 Max crash victims ask US to seek US$24 billion fine
- The relatives say the firm committed the ‘deadliest corporate crime in US history’ and want criminal prosecutions of those responsible
Relatives of the victims of two fatal Boeing 737 Max crashes asked the US Justice Department on Wednesday to seek a fine against the planemaker of up to US$24.78 billion and move forward with a criminal prosecution.
“Because Boeing’s crime is the deadliest corporate crime in US history, a maximum fine of more than US$24 billion is legally justified and clearly appropriate,” Paul Cassel, a lawyer representing 15 families, wrote in a letter to the Justice Department released on Wednesday.
The families said the Justice Department could potentially suspend US$14 billion to US$22 billion of the fine “on the condition that Boeing devote those suspended funds to an independent corporate monitor and related improvements in compliance and safety”.
The Justice Department said in May it determined Boeing violated a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement that shielded the company from a criminal charge of conspiracy to commit fraud arising from fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.
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Boeing last week told the government it did not violate the agreement. Federal prosecutors have until July 7 to inform a federal judge in Texas of their plans, which could be proceeding with a criminal case or negotiating a plea deal with Boeing. The Justice Department could also extend the deferred prosecution agreement for a year.
