Justice looms for Boeing: U.S. weighs criminal charges over 737 crashes

The U.S. Department of Justice is considering bringing charges against Boeing in connection with two Boeing 737 Max plane crashes that killed a total of 346 people in Indonesia and Ethiopia, the BBC reported on Wednesday.

According to the American department, Boeing violated the terms of a 2021 agreement that protected the company from potential criminal charges related to aviation incidents. Boeing denies that it breached the agreement. Now - as emphasized by the AP news agency - the U.S. Department of Justice must decide whether to charge Boeing formally.

After the 737 Max planes crashed in 2018 and 2019, Boeing settled with the Department of Justice in 2021, which prevented prosecution on charges of misleading federal regulatory bodies.

Boeing accused two relatively low-level employees of fraud. However, as the head of the fraud department at the Justice Department wrote in a letter to the court, Boeing did not implement the promised changes that would have made it easier to prevent violations of federal regulations aimed at combating financial misuse, thus violating the terms of the settlement.

This decision means that the aircraft manufacturer may be prosecuted for any violation of federal law known to the United States, including fraud, which the company had hoped to avoid by settling, the Justice Department believes.

Boeing stated that it looks forward to the opportunity to respond and "believes it honoured the terms of that agreement" - reported the BBC. Under the terms of the settlement, Boeing paid £2 billion.

The relatives of the victims demanded criminal action against the company, believing that any prosecution would be "the first positive step".