On Monday, U.S. District Judge John D. Bates (D.C.) approved a settlement agreement in which BAE Systems agreed to plead guilty to charges including conspiring to defraud the United States and to making false statements about its Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) compliance program. The company will also pay a massive $400 million fine and have three years of company probation. The DOJ and BAE reached the settlement agreement in early February regarding BAE’s arms deals with Saudi Arabia, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
According to the DOJ, BAE also agreed to implement policies aimed at preventing and detecting future violations of the FCPA. Specifically, BAE will appoint an independent corporate monitor and report regularly to the DOJ.