The McKinsey & Company logo is displayed at the 54th International Paris Airshow at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France, on June 21, 2023.
Benoit Tessier | Reuters
McKinsey & Company agreed to pay $650 million in a deferred prosecution agreement that will resolve a federal criminal probe into the company’s consulting work advising Purdue Pharma on how to increase sales of its opioid painkiller OxyContin, a court filing said Friday.
A former top partner at McKinsey, Martin Elling, also agreed to plead guilty to obstruction of justice next month in the probe by the U.S. Department of Justice, according to a filing in U.S. District Court in Abingdon, Virginia.
The criminal charging document that McKinsey agreed to have filed by prosecutors alleges the consulting giant “knowingly and intentionally” conspired with Purdue Pharma “and others to aid and abet the misbranding of prescription drugs.”
The document also said McKinsey is accused, through the acts of its then-partner Elling, of “knowingly destroying and concealing records and documents with the intent” to impede the investigation by the Department of Justice.
McKinsey, which previously agreed to pay almost $1 billion to settle lawsuits by states, local governments and others related to its opioid consulting, accepted responsibility for the conduct alleged by federal prosecutors, according to the deferred prosecution agreement.
As part of the deal, McKinsey will not work on any marketing, sale, promotion or distribution of controlled substances.
In a statement to CNBC, McKinsey said, “We are deeply sorry for our past client service to Purdue Pharma and the actions of a former partner who deleted documents related to his work for that client.”
“We should have appreciated the harm opioids were causing in our society and we should not have undertaken sales and marketing work for Purdue Pharma,” the firm said. “This terrible public health crisis and our past work for opioid manufacturers will always be a source of profound regret for our firm has requested comment from McKinsey.”
The company said that in addition to its deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ, it “has agreed to settle a related civil False Claims Act investigation and to enter into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Office of Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services.”