US judge okays BP plea, US$4b penalty

A US judge accepted an agreement by BP to plead guilty for its role in the Deepwater Horizon disaster and pay a record US$4 billion in criminal penalties for the worst offshore oil spill in US history.

The company said it pleaded guilty to 11 felony counts related to workers’ deaths, a felony related to obstruction of Congress and two misdemeanours. It faces five years’ probation and the imposition of two monitors who will oversee its safety and ethics for the next four years.

via Business feed http://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1139160/us-judge-okays-bp-plea-us4b-penalty