RTX to pay over $370 million to resolve US foreign bribery probe

By Luc Cohen and Nate Raymond

NEW YORK/BOSTON (Reuters) -An RTX unit on Wednesday agreed to pay more than $370 million to resolve U.S. charges that it conspired to pay bribes to an official in Qatar in exchange for help securing business from the Middle East country's armed forces.

Lawyers for RTX's Raytheon (NYSE:RTN ) subsidiary appeared before a federal judge in Brooklyn after the company entered into a deferred prosecution agreement to resolve charges brought by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The company has reached separate settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve a related foreign bribery case, according to court papers. Raytheon admitted to certain allegations as part of Wednesday's deal.

The company has also agreed to at the same time enter into a separate deferred prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors in Boston to resolve a separate procurement fraud investigation, according to court papers. That case is not public yet.

RTX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The deal finalizes part of a series of settlements Arlington, Virginia-based RTX said it expected to enter into with the Justice Department and the SEC, for which it had set aside $959 million to cover.

The series of settlements would resolve long-running investigations that have hung over the company, formerly known as Raytheon Technologies (NYSE:RTX ), since 2019. The company merged with United Technologies in 2020 and changed its name last year.

The foreign bribery investigations examined the extent to which improper payments were made by Raytheon in connection with contracts in Middle Eastern countries dating back to 2014, RTX has said.

Prosecutors alleged that Raytheon from 2012 to 2016 conspired to pay bribes to a high-level official within the Qatar Emiri Air Force in exchange for assistance obtaining and retaining business from the country's military branch.

Raytheon was charged with conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and conspiring to violate the Arms Export Control Act.

It has agreed to pay a criminal penalty of $252.3 million and forfeit $36.7 million, though it would get a $7.4 million credit against the expected related settlement with the SEC.



Under that settlement, the company would pay a $75 million penalty, for which it would receive a $22.5 million credit based on the criminal penalty, and disgorge another $37.4 million, according to Raytheon's agreement with the Justice Department.

Prosecutors have agreed to dismiss those charges after about three years if it complies with the terms of the deferred prosecution agreement. The company must retain an independent compliance monitor during that time.

Source: Investing.com