sure, your executive officer or something can go to prison but in terms of you as a corporation, paying for your crimes is usually, literally, paying for your crimes. you pay money. you pay a fine. so our happy friday pop quiz tonight is this what is the single largest fine ever imposed on a corporation in the united states? what s the largest amount of money that any u.s. court ever made a company pay for its crimes? the answer? ding. $4.5 billion. 4.5 billion to be paid by the company that does not want you to pronounce the petroleum in their name. they just want you to call them by their initials. bp. think of this green, green sun flower when you think of them and not say british petroleum. bp earned bragging rights for being charged the largest fine ever in american history. they earned it in part for lying. bp caused the largest accidental oil spill in world history three
4.5 billion to be paid by the company that does not want you to pronounce the petroleum in their name. they just want you to call them by their initiales. bp. think of this green, green sun flower when you think of them and not say british petroleum. bp earned bragging rights for being charged the largest fine ever in american history. they earned it in part for lying. bp caused the largest accidental oil spill in world history three years ago this week. and their full culpability for that spill is still being worked out along with the other companies that are responsible. they are currently on trial in new or lean. but the bp lying part of it, that part has been adjudicated. bp admitted in court that while they said publicly and to congress even, that their gushing well only leaking 5,000 barreles a day, merely a flesh wound. while they said that publicly, not only was that wrong, but they knew it was wrong.