US Justice Department reaches deal with Boeing to allow planemaker to avoid prosecution

Washington: The US Justice Department said on Friday it has struck a deal in principle with Boeing to allow it to avoid prosecution in a fraud case stemming from two fatal 737 MAX plane crashes that killed 346 people.

The agreement allows Boeing to avoid being branded a convicted felon and is a blow to families who lost relatives in the crashes and had pressed prosecutors to take the U.S. planemaker to trial.

Boeing has agreed to pay an additional $444.5 million into a
crash victims’ fund that would be divided evenly per crash
victim on top of an additional $243.6 million fine.

The Justice Department expects to file the written agreement
with Boeing by the end of next week.