05:29 AM EDT, 05/15/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Boeing ( BA ) was accused by the US government of failing to abide by the terms of a 2021 deal that protected it from criminal prosecution over two fatal 737 MAX plane crashes, news outlets reported Tuesday.
The US Department of Justice said in a court filing in Texas that the planemaker had failed to live up to promises in the deferred prosecution agreement to improve its operations and workplace ethics to prevent violations of fraud laws. The alleged breach could pave the way for criminal prosecution of Boeing ( BA ) in the 2018 and 2019 plane crashes that left 346 people dead, the reports said.
The Justice Department ordered Boeing ( BA ) to respond by June 13 with details on the steps it has taken to comply with the previous ruling and said it plans to decide whether to pursue a criminal case by July 7, according to court documents cited by Reuters.
The Justice Department and Boeing ( BA ) did not immediately reply to MT Newswires' requests for comment.
In a statement published by news agencies, Boeing ( BA ) said it "honored the terms" of the 2021 agreement and was eager to respond to the Justice Department's allegation. "We will engage with the Department with the utmost transparency, as we have throughout the entire term of the agreement," the statement reportedly said.
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