As reported by American Investigative media The Intercept, RTX Corporation, previously known as Raytheon, has agreed to pay nearly $1 billion to settle accusations from the U.S. government. These allegations claim that the company engaged in fraud and offered bribes to secure business deals with Qatar. The settlement, announced on October 16th, aims to resolve the issue and hold RTX accountable for unethical practices.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Kevin Driscoll from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division stated on October 16th that Raytheon had been involved in illegal schemes to cheat the U.S. government. Such corrupt and dishonest actions by a well-known U.S. defense contractor weaken public trust, harm the Department of Defense, disadvantage honest businesses, and burden American taxpayers.
RTX admitted to being involved in two fraud schemes targeting the U.S. Department of Defense. These schemes revolved around contracts related to a radar system and the Patriot missile systems. Essentially, RTX misled the government about aspects of these deals, violating trust and rules in the process. This admission came as part of an agreement following several investigations into the company’s practices.
RTX also agreed to a deferred prosecution agreement, which means the company must operate under stricter government supervision and be more transparent for the next three years. This agreement is connected to an investigation involving kickbacks in deals with Qatar.
According to The Intercept, Raytheon employees bribed a senior Qatari military official over several years to secure profitable defense contracts. They hid these bribes by faking documents submitted to the government, breaking laws meant to protect national security, explained Breon Peace, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
“We will keep fighting against corruption and make sure those involved face real consequences,” said the attorney. “This agreement puts in place important changes and supervision to prevent this kind of wrongdoing from happening again.”
The $950 million payment covers criminal penalties, civil fines, compensation, and the return of profits that RTX illegally earned from its dealings by “Bilking the Pentagon” ( means cheating or deceiving the U.S. Department of Defense to illegally gain money, such as by overcharging, submitting false claims, or providing misleading information in contracts.)
This announcement is a rare case where a major defense company is being held responsible for financial crimes committed by its employees.Along with cheating the government and violating international corruption laws, Raytheon has also been linked to possible war crimes in recent years.
Raytheon, one of the world’s biggest military contractors, produces missiles, bombs, fighter jet parts, and other weapons used in conflicts across places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Gaza, and Yemen.Ordinary people have often suffered the consequences.
William Hartung, a senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and an expert on the weapons industry, told The Intercept that Raytheon not only regularly cheats the government but also supplies weapons that have been used to kill civilians in Yemen, Gaza, and other conflict zones.
RTX spokesperson Chris Johnson said the company is accepting responsibility for its actions in the fraud and bribery case.He told The Intercept that the company has worked hard to correct the wrongdoing uncovered during the investigations and is continuing those efforts. However, he declined to comment on civilian casualties linked to Raytheon’s weapons.
Before 2023, the Israeli military used several of Raytheon’s weapons in attacks on Gaza. These included the 5,000-pound GBU-28 “bunker buster,” laser-guided Paveway bombs, AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missiles, AIM-9X missiles, AIM-120 Sidewinder missiles, and TOW long-range missiles, according to a 2022 report by the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization.
These weapons are usually fired or dropped from F-15, F-16, and F-35 fighter jets. Raytheon supplies the weapons, parts, and maintenance services for these aircraft.The Israeli military may have used its “bunker buster” bombs in Gaza during the ongoing war, despite these weapons being banned in areas with large civilian populations.
The Saudi-led coalition’s war in Yemen has involved the use of Raytheon weapons. In 2022, the coalition carried out an airstrike on a detention center, which resulted in a tragic loss of life. According to Doctors Without Borders, at least 80 people were killed, and over 200 others were injured in the attack.Amnesty International’s investigation revealed that the attack involved a GBU-12 bomb, a 500-pound laser-guided weapon made by Raytheon.Amnesty International also discovered that Raytheon-made bombs were used in a 2019 airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition, which claimed the lives of six civilians, including three children.
An investigation by CNN, along with the Yemen-based human rights group Mwatana, uncovered that Raytheon’s weapons were linked to several incidents where the Saudi-led coalition caused harm to civilians. These included a tragic 2018 airstrike on a wedding party, killing 21 people, including 11 children, and injuring 97 others, with 48 of them being children. In 2016, another airstrike took the lives of 15 members of the same family, including 12 children—the youngest being just one year old. That same year, a bombing destroyed an apartment, killing six people. Additionally, a 2015 attack on a residential area claimed the life of one civilian and injured six others, including two women and a young girl.
Hartung told The Intercept that the accusations against Raytheon are shocking, even by the arms industry’s typically loose standards. He added that such large-scale illegal actions imply this may not be a rare occurrence but rather a routine part of how the company operates.
Raytheon has been a major U.S. defense contractor since the 1940s, earning tens of billions of dollars through government contracts. However, the company has faced numerous scandals and wrongful actions over the years. Despite this, it has rarely been forced to pay fines or penalties on a large scale.
Raytheon has been involved in several legal issues over the years, resulting in various penalties and settlements:
- 1990 – The company pleaded guilty to illegally trading secret military budget reports.
- 1994 – Paid $4 million to settle accusations of overbilling the Pentagon.
III. 1997 – Settled a class-action lawsuit for $10 million after its Amana unit was accused of selling defective furnaces and water heaters.
- 1998 – Paid $2.7 million for improperly charging the Pentagon for marketing products to foreign governments.
- 1999 – Paid $400,000 to settle claims of overcharging the Defense Department.
- 2000 – Paid over $1 million to the federal government to address quality-control issues with electronic devices sold to the Pentagon.
VII. 2003 – Paid $3.9 million to resolve further overbilling allegations involving the Defense Department.
VIII. 2003 – Agreed to pay a $25 million civil penalty for violating export control regulations.
- 2006 – Paid $12 million in fines after the SEC found the company used misleading disclosures and improper accounting practices.
- 2013 – Fined $8 million for additional export control violations.
- 2019 – Paid $1 million to settle a case involving procurement fraud.
XII. 2021 – Along with a subsidiary, paid $515,000 to resolve claims under the False Claims Act.
XIII. 2021 – Agreed to a $59.2 million settlement under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) for incorrectly calculating retirement benefits using outdated mortality tables.
This pattern shows Raytheon’s recurring involvement in misconduct across different areas.
Earlier this year, RTX agreed to pay $200 million to settle allegations of violating U.S. export control laws. The accusations included sharing technology related to Air Force One and U.S. military aircraft with China, along with other misconduct. Additionally, the company faced a class-action lawsuit for allegedly discriminating against job applicants aged 40 or older.This week, a $950 million agreement was reached, which includes a $428 million civil settlement. The settlement addresses accusations that the company misled the government about the true costs of labor and materials to secure higher-priced, no-bid contracts. It also covers claims that the company charged the government twice for the same services under a weapons maintenance contract.
Special Agent William S. Walker from Homeland Security Investigations, New York, stated earlier this week that Raytheon Corporation intentionally planned and carried out actions that broke U.S. fraud and export laws.Raytheon’s act of bribing government officials, especially those responsible for handling U.S. military technology purchases, created serious risks to the national security of the United States and its allies.
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