Luc Cohen and Nate Raymond have reported that an RTX unit has consented to pay upwards of $280 million to settle criminal accusations levelled by the U.S. Department of Justice. These accusations are part of an extensive investigation into alleged foreign bribery by the company.
Representatives of RTX’s subsidiary, Raytheon, appeared before a federal judge in Brooklyn to confirm the company’s acceptance of a deferred prosecution agreement. This agreement, which will last for three and a half years, was made in order to settle the charges.
This agreement is just one part of a number of settlements that the Virginia-based company plans to make with the Justice Department and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In anticipation of these settlements, the company had previously allocated $959 million.
These settlements bring an end to the investigations that have been a cause of concern for the company, previously named Raytheon Technologies, since 2019. The company underwent a merger with United Technologies in 2020 and subsequently changed its name.
The focus of the foreign bribery investigations was to determine the scale of inappropriate payments made by Raytheon. These payments were allegedly connected to contracts in Middle Eastern countries and date back to 2014, according to RTX.
Jessica Wiegel, Assistant U.S. Attorney, has reported that as part of Raytheon’s agreement, the company has agreed to pay a criminal penalty of $252.3 million and forfeit $36.7 million. However, they will receive a $7.4 million credit against an expected related settlement with the SEC.
Raytheon was accused of conspiring to breach the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the Arms Export Control Act. If the company adheres to the terms of the deferred prosecution agreement for the next three and a half years, these charges will be dropped. Additionally, RTX anticipates that they will be required to maintain an independent compliance monitor.