Raytheon Corp., part of parent company defense contractor RTX, is set to settle Justice Department allegations that it defrauded the Department of Defense (Department of Defense) and paid bribes to Qatari government officials to obtain business in Qatar. The company plans to pay more than $50 million.
The company is accused of “a large-scale government fraud scheme that involved flawed pricing of certain government contracts and violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the Arms Export Control Act.” According to the statement From the Ministry of Justice (Department of Justice).
The Justice Department also said the company violated the Enforcement Regulations and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
Raytheon is expected to enter a three-year deferred prosecution agreement Wednesday in separate cases filed in federal courts in Massachusetts and New York. The company also agreed to hire an independent compliance monitor to ensure compliance with anti-corruption and anti-fraud laws.
Allegations in the Massachusetts case center on Raytheon's sales of missile systems to the Department of Defense from 2011 to 2013 and its operation of a radar surveillance system in 2017. The company is accused of inflating costs by $111 million on these transactions.
Raytheon allegedly lied to the Pentagon about the cost of building three Patriot missile batteries, and the Army agreed to a $619 million contract.
According to court documents, Justice Department investigators said in 2013 that Raytheon told the Pentagon that the company's expected costs had increased even as they were falling, causing the government to overpay by about $100 million. e-mail was discovered.
And in 2017, Raytheon allegedly misled the Air Force about the costs associated with operating and maintaining a radar surveillance system, inflating its contract by $11 million, prosecutors said.
In the New York case, Raytheon was accused of obtaining business through bribes paid to high-ranking officials at the Qatar Emiri Air Force between 2012 and 2016.
“For years, Raytheon employees bribed Qatari military officials to secure lucrative defense contracts, concealed bribe payments by forging government documents, and protected our national security. “The United States violated the law, including the law for the purpose of Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement from the Department of Justice.
Raytheon is now obligated to pay criminal fines, civil penalties, restitution, and repay profits it made by inflating military contracts and business it obtained after accepting bribes.
“Such corruption and fraud, especially by publicly traded U.S. defense contractors, undermines public trust and protects the Department of Defense, rule-abiding companies, and the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Kevin Driscoll of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. taxpayers will be harmed.” That statement. “Today's resolution, which brings total criminal and civil recoveries to nearly $1 billion, reflects the Criminal Division's ability to take on the most important and complex white-collar cases across multiple subjects.”
In a statement, RTX said it “takes responsibility for any wrongdoing that occurs,” and that “while maintaining integrity and serving our customers ethically, we comply with global laws, regulations, and company policies, and strive to provide world-class We are committed to maintaining our compliance program.” ,” according to Associated Press.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the Justice Department's National Security Division said the case's resolution “should serve as a stark warning to companies that violate the law when selling sensitive military technology overseas.”
