The U.S. government is investigating the weapons manufacturer Raytheon for granting payments to a consultant for the Qatar Armed Forces (QAF) that may in fact have been bribes for a high-level member of the Qatari government, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
The potential bribe first came to light in a 2020 California lawsuit, which alleged — among other things — that Raytheon had funneled roughly $1.9 million through Digital Soula Systems, a Qatari defense consulting firm partially owned by the brother of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, according to WSJ. The SEC and Department of Justice (DOJ) have investigated Raytheon for fraud accusations in the past as well, with the company agreeing to pay a $1 million settlement for procurement fraud allegations in 2019.
The U.S. is investigating whether the payments were a de facto bribe to the Emir’s brother in an effort to increase Qatar’s budget for defense systems. Raytheon has made $7 billion in military contracts with Qatar since 2014, according to WSJ.
Raytheon most recently came into the public eye for reportedly pushing Critical Race Theory (CRT) on its employees. Leaked internal documents showed that the company encouraged its white employees to confront their “privilege,” reject the principle of “equality” and to advocate for “defund the police.” (RELATED: The Three Most Common Lies Pro-CRT Media Is Telling Concerned Parents And The Public)
SCOOP: Raytheon, the nation’s second-largest defense contractor, has launched a critical race theory program that encourages white employees to confront their “privilege,” reject the principle of “equality,” and “defund the police.”
Let’s review the internal documents.🧵
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) July 6, 2021
“In America, if you are white or Christian or able-bodied or straight or English-speaking, these particular identities are easy to forget. This is called ‘ordinary privilege’ because these identities and traits easily blend in with the people and norms around us,” Raytheon’s program states.
Raytheon’s rival and the largest military contractor in the U.S., Lockheed Martin, has also been found to push CRT on its employees in recent months. The company reportedly held a 3-day training conference for white male executives aimed at deconstructing “privilege” and understanding how white male behavior is “devastating” to victim groups.