BP to get record US criminal fine over Deepwater disaster (UPDATE $4.5bn fine)

BP is set to receive a record fine of between $3bn and $5bn (£1.9bn-£3.2bn) to settle criminal charges related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, the BBC has learnt.

It will be the biggest criminal penalty in US history, BBC business editor Robert Peston says.

The settlement with the Department of Justice involves BP pleading guilty to criminal charges.

It is thought that up to four BP staff may be arrested, Robert Peston says.

www.bbc.co.uk...

Fair enough.. BP is getting fined..

But who benefits from the money?
All those who lost their business or have been directly out of home/pocket due to the disaster?
Will the money go towards paying off any deficit... anywhere?
Would it get plit up and divided out to everyone as part of the apology?

None of the above I suspect.
It'll more than likely sit in some bank account keeping that particular bank floating..

It seems that this fine is just because of the disaster and not for any other 'payments'

BP said that any deal would not include a range of other claims including individual and federal claims for damages under the Clean Water Act, and state claims for economic loss.

I'd guess they're hoping that not everyone will chase them through the courts due to costs and time involved so they wont have to pay out as much if it was all in one basket..

With $38bn booked for any and all future total payouts, BP sure looks like it is in deep water itself.. and rightly so.

Should be shut down and allassets sold off to and all monies distributed to everyone on thye planet seeing as BP has contributed to polluting it in such a massive way..

reply to post by Extralien


Who knows what happens to fines paid to government? You can only be sure of one thing: They end up benefiting no one (except, as you say, maybe the bank). Yay for us.

I'd like to see an account set up that takes all the fines levied by the Feds and put them to some particular and identifiable use for the benefit of all. But no. That would make sense. And we could never have that....

reply to post by Ex_CT2


Exactly the sort of thing I was thinking..

Let's say BPs costs (fines etc.) were $40bn.. divide that by every single person on Earth and that's a nice tidy sum for each person in their pocket..

Problem is, the crafty 1% would only put prices up as the market would be flooded with people buying houses and TVs and new cars.. wouldn't really benefit everyone, though it would set many people up for life.

If there were any brains behind it all rather than profit makers, we'd all be a lot better off right now.

As for BP, the fine is just hammering the company. It does very little for the damage done and for all the oil that is supposedly saton the bottom of the sea soaked up by sand and corexit.. I recall suggestions that a lot of oil on the beaches has just been buried where it lay..

The long term costs of this disaster are yet to be felt.

Originally posted by Extralien
The long term costs of this disaster are yet to be felt.

Exactly. They are still cleaning up oil, and supposedly, the cap is leaking.

I was on the beach the day of this disaster...watched the first few months unfold, but left the area because of all the oil burning under the cover of night. It was awful.

Lot's of people lost what they do for a living, etc...out of this continuing disaster.

Would you eat anything caught in the Gulf?

This will take decades, if ever, to resolve.

Exactly my thoughts. The people/businesses that suffered should get the money
But, Uncle Sam will get it and the ones who need it will see little, if any. All penalties of this kind should go to the victims.

Originally posted by Extralien
reply to post by Ex_CT2

 

Exactly the sort of thing I was thinking..

Let's say BPs costs (fines etc.) were $40bn.. divide that by every single person on Earth and that's a nice tidy sum for each person in their pocket..

Problem is, the crafty 1% would only put prices up as the market would be flooded with people buying houses and TVs and new cars.. wouldn't really benefit everyone, though it would set many people up for life.

If there were any brains behind it all rather than profit makers, we'd all be a lot better off right now.

As for BP, the fine is just hammering the company. It does very little for the damage done and for all the oil that is supposedly saton the bottom of the sea soaked up by sand and corexit.. I recall suggestions that a lot of oil on the beaches has just been buried where it lay..

The long term costs of this disaster are yet to be felt.

you do realise that $40B divided by every person on Earth only amounts to $5.72 each, correct??

reply to post by DAVID64


WE are the victims.. as much as the Earth is and all that live on it..

It makes me sick that companies like this can pay a fine, thwen it's business as usual and the costs of the fines just end up being grabbed back at the pump in higher gas/petrol prices..

BP should pay the fines then be shut down, split up and sold off.. imagine how many cheap razor blades you could get out of one oil rig..

reply to post by kalisdad


Yeah, but I think you know what I'm trying to say..

If anyone wanted to be really picky about it then you could limit the age as to whom recieves it.. for example, you could make a payment to everyone under that age of 20 as they are our future annd have had very little choice/options as to what us adults have done to this planet and hope that these kids can help put it right..

if you get my drift..

reply to post by Extralien


I hear ya...
I thought the same thing with all the bailouts the past few years... if they had really wanted to kick start the economy, rather than give the banks billions of dollars, they could have split that money amongst the American peole. each person would have gotten a few thousand dollars each, paid off bills or run out and bought a car or new toys. that would have certainly had a real impact on society...

however, they don't want to actually fix anything with the economy. too much control at stake by keeping people under the debt they have.

regardless of how much $ BP ends up paying in fines, I seriously doubt it will effect anyone, as there is zero accountability

reply to post by Extralien


It should be used to expand jobs like use it to build a monorail...ending or at least diminishing our needs for fossil fuels. JS...

MONORAILS are environment friendly. Since most are electrically powered, monorails are non-polluting. In 2007, the Las Vegas Monorail aided in the annual removal of an estimated 3.2 million vehicle miles from Southern Nevada’s major roadways and reduced emissions by more than 58 tons of carbon monoxide (CO), volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) over the course of the year. Most monorails run on rubber tires and are very quiet. Monorails are the most aesthetically pleasing of all elevated rail systems. Their sleek design blends in with modern urban environments. Quick construction time results in less disruption to the surrounding environments, whether business or residential.

MONORAILS

Originally posted by Ex_CT2
reply to post by Extralien

 

Who knows what happens to fines paid to government? You can only be sure of one thing: They end up benefiting no one (except, as you say, maybe the bank). Yay for us.

I'd like to see an account set up that takes all the fines levied by the Feds and put them to some particular and identifiable use for the benefit of all. But no. That would make sense. And we could never have that....

no!!! how dare you speak of such common sense practices, it's like blasphemy to the global bankers!

everyone's money do belong to the bankers, you know that.



actually now that you mention it, do they plan on fining them for the wells that are still leaking, or does that not count in this round of fines?

reply to post by LittleBlackEagle


There's no mention of other wells.
This appears to be a direct fine aimed at the actual original disaster rather than anything else.

I reckon if everyone knew that there were wells still leaking then BP may find itself confined to the naughty corner a lot faster than they can fire/resign staff...

reply to post by LittleBlackEagle


Hard to pin it on BP alone (leaking wells) as this phenomenon in the Gulf Of Mexico has been known for decades (fact that the entire sea floor is cracked, leaky and unstable) so i would think that no, it won't cover that aspect. Unless BP has the worst lawyers in corporate history (unlikely for a multinational oil company, they are more likely the type of lawyer able to get compensation for getting their cars wet when it rains!).

I am glad the fine has dished out and i am hopeful the precedent has been set now. Every time an major company pollutes badly anywhere in the world, i will be expecting billions in fines. We can only hope.........

You beat me too it.


9WSYR

Its funny this comes out now.....after all the gulf state's petitions.

Put the fear of god in them did we? lol

There it is... $4.5bn fine...

BP has received the biggest criminal penalty in US history as part of a $4.5bn (£2.8bn) settlement related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, in which 11 people died.

www.bbc.co.uk...

BP pleaded guilty..

Should be shut down.. fines don't fix failures

BP has agreed to plead guilty to:

eleven felony counts of Misconduct or Neglect of Ships Officers relating to the loss of 11 lives
one misdemeanour count under the Clean Water Act
one misdemeanour count under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act
one felony count of obstruction of Congress

I find this amount insulting. The damage BP wrought cannot be measured in $'s. But since that's what we must use, BP should hand over all future profits to the victims and their families and be forced to continue cleanup efforts until the gulf recovers from their mistake. Exxon still hasn't payed for the Valdez, I'm scared that regulators are gonna let BP go too.

Unfortunately the consumers will end up paying this fine through higher gas prices anyway.

This is a minor speed bump for BP.


I think they should have waited until the long term studies are finished, the gulf is a long way from recovery.

reply to post by Extralien


It would be nice if the US government decided to pay a guaranteed lower price per barrel for this.......Not only a fine, but cutting into future revenue also, would also work out to savings for the average person too!

Sounds pretty fair to me, NO??

I just received this via email... (Thanks to the one and only George Knapp)

In addition to the resolution of charges against BP, Robert M. Kaluza, 62, of Henderson, Nev., and Donald J. Vidrine, 65, of Lafayette, La. – the highest-ranking BP supervisors onboard the Deepwater Horizon on April 20, 2010 – are alleged to have engaged in negligent and grossly negligent conduct in a 23-count indictment charging violations of the federal involuntary manslaughter and seaman’s manslaughter statutes and the Clean Water Act. David I. Rainey, 58, of Houston – a former BP executive who served as a Deputy Incident Commander and BP’s second-highest ranking representative at Unified Command during the spill response – is charged with obstruction of Congress and making false statements to law enforcement officials. A grand jury in the Eastern District of Louisiana returned the indictments against Kaluza, Vidrine and Rainey, which were unsealed today.

According to court documents, on April 20, 2010, while stationed at the Macondo well site in the Gulf of Mexico, the Deepwater Horizon rig experienced an uncontrolled blowout and related explosions. In agreeing to plead guilty, BP has admitted that the two highest-ranking BP supervisors onboard the Deepwater Horizon, known as BP’s “Well Site Leaders” or “company men,” negligently caused the deaths of 11 men and the resulting oil spill. The information details that, on the evening of April 20, the two supervisors, Kaluza and Vidrine, observed clear indications that the Macondo well was not secure and that oil and gas were flowing into the well. Despite this, BP’s well site leaders chose not to take obvious and appropriate steps to prevent the blowout. As a result of their conduct, control of the Macondo well was lost, resulting in catastrophe.

Kaluza and Vidrine each are charged with 11 felony counts of seaman’s manslaughter, 11 felony counts of involuntary manslaughter and one violation of the Clean Water Act. If convicted, Kaluza and Vidrine each face a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison on each seaman’s manslaughter count, up to eight years in prison on each involuntary manslaughter count, and up to a year in prison on the Clean Water Act count

(I believe the source of the above is the US Atty. General's office)

We'll see if anyone gets any real jail time out of this, I'm not holding my breath. I have to agree that a few billion USD here or there is no big deal for BP. It's a political victory to be able to say it's the "largest fine in U.S. history I suppose but that doesn't do much for the families whose lives and businesses were ruined because of this STUPIDITY.

Springer...