BP to pay U.S. govt. 4.5 bln USD to solve oil spill claims (2)

The BP penalty is setting a record as the largest previous corporate criminal penalty assessed by the U.S. Department of Justice was the 1.2 billion U.S. dollars fine imposed on drug maker Pfizer in 2009, according to media reports.

As part of the settlement, BP also agrees to plead guilty to 11 felony counts of misconduct or neglect charges related to the deaths of 11 people in the Deepwater Horizon accident, one misdemeanor count under the Clean Water Act, one misdemeanor count under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, as well as one felony count of obstruction of Congress, the BP statement said.

Thirteen of the 14 criminal charges pertain to the accident itself and are based on the negligent misinterpretation of the negative pressure test conducted on board the Deepwater Horizon, BP said.

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