BP Pleads Guilty to Criminal Charges - to Pay in Excess of $4 Billion

The Department of Justice announced today the entry of a guilty plea by BP Exploration and Production, Inc., to criminal charges of felony manslaughter, environmental crimes, and obstruction of Congress. The DOJ press release is attached here. The agreement calls for BP to pay in excess of $4 billion dollars in fines and penalties. The penalty is subject to court approval, and is the largest criminal penalty in U.S. History. The Guilty Plea filed with the federal court in Louisiana is attached here. Three individual BP employees have been indicated, including the 2 highest ranking supervisors aboard the Deepwater Horizon, and a BP executive who served as Deputy Incident Commander after the incident, who is charged with obstruction of Congress and making false statements to law enforcement officials.