BP faces penalties of $21bn-plus if found fully liable for damages in a lawsuit over the oil accident in the Gulf of Mexico launched by the US government on Wednesday.
Any damages would be on top of the $20bn (￡17bn) BP has agreed to pay into a fund to compensate people on the Gulf coast who have suffered financially because of the spill. The final damages figures depend on the US government’s ability to prove gross negligence.
BP, which has always denied such a charge, said “the filing is solely a statement of the government’s allegations and does not in any manner constitute any finding of liability or any judicial finding that the allegations have merit”. The company would answer the allegations “in a timely manner”, it added.
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