When found guilty of wrongdoing, corporations may suffer not only a public relations disaster, but a major blow to their bottom line, too. Even without admitting guilt, companies may settle with authorities to make issues go away. Far from a weak slap on the wrist, the payouts can sometimes reach into the billions.
To determine the 30 largest corporate fines since 2000, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed several sources and lists, including Violation Tracker Largest Penalties, an online database from Good Jobs First, a nonprofit watchdog. We also included fines imposed by EU authorities. Ties were broken using market capitalization.Â
For the sake of diversity, only the largest fine of a company was included as several companies, including Bank of America and BP, have received other large fines that could have been included on the list. Also, we have only included settlements with authorities and not private settlements. It is important to note that several of these fines are being appealed. (See if any of the companies listed here are among the companies that changed their name after scandals.)
Financial companies and pharmaceuticals dominate the list. Many of the fines imposed on or settlements reached with financial firms are related to the mortgage-backed securities scandal, which led to the housing bubble and the Great Recession. Many of the financial companies were fined several times, but only the largest fine is listed here.
Several of the pharmaceutical companies listed here were fined for their role in the nation’s opioid crisis. Others were fined for improper marketing of drugs.
Yet it was an oil corporation that was hit with the largest fine. In 2015, BP agreed to pay $20.8 billion related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The explosion at the Macondo well resulted in the deaths of 11 people and an estimated more than 3 million gallons of oil seeping into the Gulf.
Such massive penalties are not a recent phenomenon. A 1998 settlement with seven tobacco companies eclipsed the ones compiled here. The companies agreed to pay a total of $206 billion for the public health harm caused by cigarette smoking. The companies also consented to changes in the way they marketed tobacco products and to contribute to a $1.5 billion anti-smoking effort. (See how Americans felt about big business every year since 2000.)
Just recently, in mid July, four former executives of the Tokyo Electric Power Co. were ordered to pay $95 billion in damages to the operator of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, which melted down in 2011 following a tsunami. The judge found the executives were responsible for the disaster due to negligence. The civil case was brought by Tepco shareholders. In 2019, three of the executives were found not guilty of negligence in a criminal trial. That case is being appealed.
Click here to see 30 scandals that cost companies billions in fines.
Source: Sundry Photography / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
30. Abbott Laboratories
> Fine or settlement amount: $1,500,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: US DOJ
> Reason: Pleaded guilty to resolve charges of unlawful promotion of the prescription drug Depakote for uses not approved as safe and effective by the FDA
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29. Barclays
> Fine or settlement amount: $2,000,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: US DOJ
> Reason: Civil penalties for alleged conduct related to underwriting and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities between 2005 and 2007
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
28. Ocwen Financial
> Fine or settlement amount: $2,125,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: CFPB
> Reason: For misconduct that occurred at every stage of the mortgage servicing process
Source: tupungato / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
27. Pfizer
> Fine or settlement amount: $2,300,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: FDA
> Reason: Pleaded guilty to a criminal charge relating to misbranding of its now-withdrawn Bextra pain medicine with the intent to defraud or mislead
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Source: Michael Vi / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
26. Merck
> Fine or settlement amount: $2,300,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: IRS
> Reason: Settlement to resolve several disputed tax issues
Source: sanfel / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
25. Boeing
> Fine or settlement amount: $2,513,600,000
> Agency imposing fine: US DOJ
> Reason: Settlement to resolve a criminal charge related to a conspiracy to defraud the FAA AEG in connection with its evaluation of Boeing’s 737 MAX airplane
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Source: Nikada / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
24. Morgan Stanley
> Fine or settlement amount: $2,600,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: US DOJ
> Reason: Penalty related to its residential mortgage backed securities – failed to disclose critical information to investors about the quality of the mortgage loans
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Source: 13threephotography / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
23. GlaxoSmithKline
> Fine or settlement amount: $3,000,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: US DOJ
> Reason: Plead guilty to a three-count criminal information, including the unlawful promotion of Paxil and Wellbutrin and failure to report safety data about Avandia to the FDA
Source: David McNew / Getty Images
22. American Electric Power
> Fine or settlement amount: $4,675,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: EPA
> Reason: AEP agreed to install state-of-the-art emission controls on most of the units in its system at a cost estimated to reach $4.6 billion
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Source: 400tmax / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
21. Google/Alphabet
> Fine or settlement amount: $5,000,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: EU
> Reason: Antitrust penalty imposed for stifling competition through the dominance of its Android operating system
Source: Fritz Jorgensen / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
20. Facebook/Meta Platforms
> Fine or settlement amount: $5,000,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: FTC
> Reason: Settlement of FTC charges it violated a 2012 order by deceiving users about their ability to control the privacy of their personal information
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Source: JHVEPhoto / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
19. Johnson & Johnson
> Fine or settlement amount: $5,000,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: Multi-state AGs
> Reason: Agreement to resolve investigations and litigation over its role in creating and fueling the opioid epidemic
Source: Dan Totilca / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
18. Goldman Sachs
> Fine or settlement amount: $5,060,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: US DOJ
> Reason: Settlement related to conduct in the packaging, securitization, marketing, sale and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities between 2005 and 2007
Source: Alextov / iStock via Getty Images
17. Anadarko Petroleum – now Occidental Petroleum
> Fine or settlement amount: $5,150,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: EPA
> Reason: Settlement to resolve claims brought by the EPA and others in the bankruptcy of Tronox Inc. and its subsidiaries for the clean-up of environmental contamination
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Source: yuelan / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
16. Credit Suisse
> Fine or settlement amount: $5,280,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: US DOJ
> Reason: Settlement related to conduct in the packaging, securitization, issuance, marketing and sale of residential mortgage-backed securities between 2005 and 2007
Source: ablokhin / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
15. Wells Fargo
> Fine or settlement amount: $5,342,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: US DOJ and multi-state
> Reason: Settlement to address mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure abuses
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Source: Poulssen / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
14. Royal Bank of Scotland
> Fine or settlement amount: $5,500,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: FHFA
> Reason: Settlement to resolve claims of violations related to private-label residential mortgage-backed securities trusts purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Source: Philiphotographer / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
13. Allianz Global Investors
> Fine or settlement amount: $5,763,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: US DOJ
> Reason: Pleaded guilty to securities fraud in connection with a fraudulent scheme
Source: Courtesy of Cardinal Health
12. Cardinal Health
> Fine or settlement amount: $6,489,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: Multi-state AGs
> Reason: Agreement to resolve investigations and litigation over its role in creating and fueling the opioid epidemic
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Source: Kritchanut / Getty Images
11. AmerisourceBergen Corporation
> Fine or settlement amount: $6,510,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: Multi-state AGs
> Reason: Agreement to resolve investigations and litigation over its role in creating and fueling the opioid epidemic
Source: _ultraforma_ / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
10. Citigroup
> Fine or settlement amount: $7,100,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: Multi-state AGs
> Reason: Settlement to resolve claims related to its packaging, securitization, marketing, sale and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities
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Source: franz12 / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
9. Deutsche Bank
> Fine or settlement amount: $7,200,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: US DOJ
> Reason: Settlement to resolve claims DB misled investors in the packaging, securitization, marketing, sale and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities
Source: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
8. McKesson Corporation
> Fine or settlement amount: $8,001,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: Multi-state AGs
> Reason: Agreement to resolve investigations and litigation over its role in creating and fueling the opioid epidemic
Source: Drew Angerer / Getty Images
7. Purdue Pharma LP
> Fine or settlement amount: $8,344,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: US DOJ
> Reason: Criminal and civil settlement for its role in the opioid crisis
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Source: AdrianHancu / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
6. BNP Paribas
> Fine or settlement amount: $8,973,600,000
> Agency imposing fine: US DOJ
> Reason: Sentenced for unlawfully opening the US financial markets to Sudan, Iran, and Cuba, which are sanctioned countries
Source: simarts / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
5. UBS
> Fine or settlement amount: $11,150,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: Multi-state AGs
> Reason: Settlement related to UBS misrepresenting auction rate securities to investors as safe, cash-equivalent products, when in fact they faced increasing liquidity risk
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Source: danielvfung / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
4. JP Morgan Chase
> Fine or settlement amount: $13,000,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: US DOJ
> Reason: Settlement for misleading investors about securities containing toxic mortgages
Source: josefkubes / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
3. Volkswagen
> Fine or settlement amount: $14,700,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: US DOJ on behalf of EPA & State of California, and US FTC
> Reason: Settlement to resolve EPA and others allegations of the vehicles’ use of “defeat devices” to cheat emissions tests as well as claims of unfair advertising
Source: ProArtWork / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
2. Bank of America
> Fine or settlement amount: $16,650,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: US DOJ
> Reason: Settlement for financial fraud leading up to and during the financial crisis
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Source: jetcityimage / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
1. BP
> Fine or settlement amount: $20,800,000,000
> Agency imposing fine: US DOJ
> Reason: Settlement to resolve civil claims against BP arising from the April 20, 2010 Macondo well blowout and the massive oil spill that followed in the Gulf of Mexico
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