Defense Contractor Raytheon Settles Bribery, Allegations for $950 Million

Defense contractor Raytheon on Wednesday agreed to settle allegations it defrauded the U.S. government and bribed a Qatari official for $950 million.

Now a subsidiary of RTX, the aerospace and defense unit entered into two deferring prosecution agreements, resolving charges brought by the Department of Justice in both Brooklyn and Massachusetts.

Under the deal, prosecutors have agreed to dismiss the criminal charges against the defense company in three years if it abides by the terms of the deal, which include hiring an independent compliance monitor.

“Over the course of several years, Raytheon employees bribed a high-level Qatari military official to obtain lucrative defense contracts and concealed the bribe payments by falsifying documents to the government, in violation of laws including those designed to protect our national security,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace with the Eastern District of New York said in a statement.

Raytheon admitted in court filings that the allegations against it are true. In the Brooklyn action, the company was represented by attorney William Stuckwisch.

The nearly $1 billion covers penalties, civil fines, returns in ill-gotten gains from inflated defense billing, and alleged bribes paid to a Qatari official from 2012 to 2016. Those bribes allegedly secured business from Qatar’s air force.

The settlement also includes $428 million for lying to the U.S. government about material costs and double-billing on a weapons maintenance contract.

In a statement, RTX said it is “taking responsibility for the misconduct that occurred” and is “committed to maintaining a world-class compliance program, following global laws, regulations and internal policies, while upholding integrity and serving our customers in an ethical matter.”

The federal investigations largely preceded the Raytheon-United Technologies merger in 2020.

In August, the company agreed to a $200 million settlement with the State Department after disclosing dozens of alleged violations of the Arms Export Control Act and International Traffic in Arms Regulations.

Those disclosures included allegations that company employees took laptops containing sensitive information to Russia, Iran and Lebanon, and that the company shared classified data about U.S. military aircraft with China.

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