BP receives biggest criminal fine in U.S. history

PanARMENIAN.Net - BP has received the biggest criminal fine in U.S. history as part of a $4.5bn (£2.8bn) settlement related to the fatal 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, according to BBC News.

Two BP workers have been indicted on manslaughter charges and an ex-manager charged with misleading Congress.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) said BP must hand over $4bn. The sum includes a $1.26bn fine as well as payments to wildlife and science organizations.

As part of the agreement, BP will also plead guilty to 14 criminal charges. The company apologized for its role and said it regretted the loss of life.

BP will pay an additional $525m to the Securities and Exchange Commission over a period of three years, the firm said.

The resolution with the DoJ includes a record criminal fine of $1.26bn, as well as $2.4bn to be paid to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and $350m to be paid to the National Academy of Sciences, over a period of five years.

DoJ Attorney General Eric Holder said its resolution "stands as a testament to the hard work of countless investigators, attorneys, support staff members, and other personnel".

As a result of the settlements, the company said that it was setting aside an additional $3.85bn on top of the $38.1bn it has been raising to cover its liabilities from the incident. The UK-based oil giant has been selling assets to raise the funds.

BP added that the resolution allowed the company to vigorously defend itself against the remaining civil claims and to contest allegations of gross negligence in those cases.

The settlement is bigger than the largest previous corporate criminal penalty assessed by the Department of Justice, the $1.2bn fine imposed on drug maker Pfizer in 2009.