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MOSCOW: Boeing has agreed to plead guilty and pay a US$243.6 million fine for a criminal fraud charge related to the fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019, reported Sputnik quoting a CNBC report which cited the US Department of Justice.

"We can confirm that we have reached an agreement in principle on terms of a resolution with the Justice Department, subject to the memorialisation and approval of specific terms," CNBC quoted the company as saying.

The plea deal will instal an independent monitor to oversee the plane maker's compliance for three years. Boeing will also have to invest at least US$455 million in compliance and safety programmes, CNBC said.

The Justice Department notified Boeing in May that it was subject to criminal prosecution after it had determined that the company breached a 2021 settlement that had Boeing pay US$2.5 billion in penalties and vow to improve its safety and compliance protocols.

Federal prosecutors recently recommended to senior Justice Department officials that Boeing be prosecuted for failing to improve the safety of its aircraft after a series of mishaps this year, including a door panel that blew out of an Alaska Airlines flight shortly after the takeoff, a source familiar with the matter told Sputnik.